Physics

Since 1990, Paul Pancella Ph.D. has been an ordinary, everyday physics professor at Western Michigan University. He wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, until the optometrist prescribed corrective lenses. He maintained a strong interest in science, however, and received his BA in physics with honors (summa cum laude) from St. Louis University, where he was also initiated into F??. He earned a PhD in nuclear physics from Rice University in Houston. Pancella works in a variety of ways to promote science literacy in the general public. He also recently converted his old Honda Civic to a fully battery-powered electric vehicle. Author home: Kalamazoo, MI

Marc Humphrey Ph.D. discovered quantum physics when he was a senior in high school. Not in the same way that Max Planck did, of course, but through reading books like this. He earned his BS in physics and applied mathematics at Western Michigan University, where he was recognized with a Goldwater fellowship, and his PhD in atomic physics at Harvard University. The more he learned about quantum physics, the more enchanted he became. While at Harvard, he also discovered his love of teaching, for which he was awarded the Harold White Prize for Outstanding Teaching and the Certificate for Distinction in Teaching. Over the past ten years, he has focused on explaining science to nonscientists during his day jobs at the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali. Today he lives in Vienna with his wife and two very curious children. Author home: Vienna, Austria.