Philip Nelson is Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his A.B. from Princeton University (1980) and Ph.D. from Harvard University (1984). Dr. Nelson serves on the Biophysical Society’s Education Committee; he received Penn’s highest teaching award in 2001, in part for creating the course that formed the basis for this book. Dr. Nelson was recently elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Roderick P. Neumann is a professor of geography in the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. He studies the complex interactions of culture and nature through a specific focus on national parks and natural resources. In his research, he combines the analytical tools of cultural and political ecology with landscape studies. He has pursued these investigations through historical and ethnographic research mostly in East Africa, with some comparative work in North America and Central America. His current research explores interwoven narratives of nature, landscape, and identity in the European Union, with a particular emphasis on Spain. His scholarly books include Imposing Wilderness: Struggles over Livelihoods and Nature Preservation in Africa (1998), Making Political Ecology (2005), and The Commercialization of Non-Timber Forest Products (2000), the latter coauthored with Eric Hirsch.

Susan Nickerson is an Associate Professor in San Diego State University's Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Her research interest is long-term professional development of elementary and middle school teachers. In particular, her focus is describing, analyzing, and understanding effective contexts that promote teachers' knowledge of mathematics and mathematics teaching.

Susan Nolan turned to psychology after suffering a career-ending accident on her second workday as a bicycle messenger. A native of Boston, she graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Northwestern University. Her research involves experimental investigations of the role of gender in the interpersonal consequences of depression and studies of gender and mentoring in science and technology, funded in part by the National Science Foundation. Susan is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as an Associate Professor of Psychology, at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. She has served as a statistical consultant to researchers at several universities, medical schools, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations. Recently, she advised Bosnian high school students conducting public opinion research.  Susan's academic schedule allows her to pursue one travel adventure per year, a tradition that she relishes. In recent years she rode her bicycle across the U.S. (despite her earlier crash), swapped apartments to live in Montreal, and explored the Adriatic coast in an intermittently roadworthy 1985 Volkswagen Scirocco. She wrote much of this book while spending a sabbatical year in rural Bosnia-Herzegovina, where her husband, Ivan Bojanic, worked as an advisor to regional governments. Susan and Ivan fell in love with Bosnia – a beautiful country – and bought a small house in the city of Banja Luka as a base for future adventures. They currently reside in New York City, where Susan roots feverishly, if quietly, for the Red Sox.

William I. Notz is Professor of Statistics at the Ohio State University.  He received his B.S. in physics from the Johns Hopkins University and his Ph.D. in mathematics from Cornell University.  His first academic job was as an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics at Purdue University.  While there, he taught the introductory concepts course with Professor Moore and as a result of this experience he developed an interest in statistical education.  Professor Notz is a co-author of EESEE (the Electronic Encyclopedia of Statistical Examples and Exercises) and co-author of Statistics: Concepts and Controversies.

 

Professor Notz’s research interests have focused on experimental design and computer experiments.  He is the author of several research papers and of a book on the design and analysis of computer experiments.  He is an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association.  He has served as the editor of the journal Technometrics and as editor of the Journal of Statistics Education.  He has served as the Director of the Statistical Consulting Service, as acting chair of the Department of Statistics for a year, and as an Associate Dean in the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the Ohio State University.  He is a winner of the Ohio State University’s Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award. 

George Odian is a tried and true New Yorker, born in Manhattan and educated in its public schools, including Stuyvesant High School. He graduated from The City College with a B.S. in chemistry. After a brief work interlude, George entered Columbia University for graduate studies in organic chemistry, earning M.S. and Ph. D. degrees. He then worked as a research chemist for 5 years, first at the Thiokol Chemical Company in New Jersey, where he synthesized solid rocket propellants, and subsequently at Radiation Applications Incorporated in Long Island City, where he studied the use of radiation to modify the properties of plastics for use as components of space satellites and in water-desalination processes. George returned to Columbia University in 1964 to teach and conduct research in polymer and radiation chemistry. In 1968, he joined the chemistry faculty at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, and has been engaged in undergraduate and graduate education there for three decades. He is the author of more than 60 research papers in the area of polymer chemistry and of a textbook titled Principles of Polymerization, now in its fourth edition, which translates in Chinese, French, Korean, and Russian. George has a son, Michael, who is an equine veterinarian practicing in Maryland. Along with chemistry and photography, one of George’s greatest passions is baseball. He has been an avid New York Yankees fan for more than five decades.

Tina Overton worked in industry and in the National Health Service whilst completing her first degree by part time study. She then completed a PhD and postdoctoral work in heterogeneous catalysis. She joined the chemistry department at the University of Hull in 1992, first as a teaching fellow, then as lecturer, senior lecturer, and then as Professor of Chemistry Education. During her time at Hull she became increasingly interested in chemical education research. She has published on the topics of critical thinking, context and problem-based learning and their role in developing conceptual understanding and cognitive skills and the development of problem solving skills. She has published learning resources which have been adopted in many institutions and has co-authored several textbooks in inorganic chemistry. She is Director of the national Higher Education Academy Physical Sciences Centre which aims to enhance the student learning experience across chemistry, physics and astronomy. She has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry’s HE Teaching Award, Tertiary Education Award and Nyholm Prize and is a National Teaching Fellow and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Brent E. Owens is Professor and Chair of the Department of Geology at the College of William and Mary. He received his B.S. from the University of Kentucky, his M.S. from the University of Massachusetts, and his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. His research interests are in mineralogy, petrology, and Precambrian geology, with most of his work on Proterozoic igneous rocks.