Lawrence University

Department of Physics

BRIEF VITAE OF DAVID M. COOK

(Information updated 8 March 2013)

Education: B.S. (Physics), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1959
A.M. (Physics), Harvard University, 1960
Ph.D. (Physics), Harvard University, 1965
Ph.D. Dissertation: ``Cyclotron Radiation from Plasmas in Weakly
Inhomogeneous Magnetic Fields''
(Advisor: Dr. Max Krook)
Research Interests: Mathematical Physics;
Computational Physics;
Computers in Physics Instruction

Experience:

Philetus E. Sawyer Professor of Science Emeritus, Lawrence University 2008--
Professor of Physics Emeritus, Lawrence University 2008--
Philetus E. Sawyer Professor of Science, Lawrence University, 1989--
Director, Lawrence Computational Physics Laboratory, 1988--
Assistant, Associate, Full Professor of Physics, Lawrence University, 1965--
Chair, Physics Department, Lawrence University, 1968--71, 1975--77, 1980--81, 1990--92, 1995--99, 2002--06
Associate Editor, Computers in Physics, 1994--98

Chair, Meetings Committee of the American Association of Physics Teachers, January, 2013--January, 2016
Member, Committee on the Interests of Senior Physicists of the American Association of Physics Teachers, January, 2012--January 2015
Member, Advisory Panel on Committees of the American Institute of Physics, January, 2011--January 2013
AAPT Representative to APS Forum on Education Executive Committee, 2011
AAPT Representative to American Physical Society Council, 2010
AAPT Representative to Governing Board of American Institute of Physics, 2009--2011
Member, APS Forum on Education Nominating Committee, 2009
Vice-President, President-Elect, President, Past President of the American Association of Physics Teachers, 2008--12
Member, Partnership for Incorporating Computing in Undergraduate Physics (PICUP), August, 2005--08
Organizer and Teacher, Week long NSF-supported workshops for physics faculty from around the US, 13--20 July 2003, 7--14 July 2002, 21--28 July 2002, 8--15 July 2001
Associate Editor, Computers in Physics, 1994--98
Visiting Scientist, San Diego Supercomputer Center 3--12 November 1992
Member, Committee on Computers in Physics Education of the American Association of Physics Teachers, January, 1991--January, 1994
Organizer and Chair, Session on uses of symbolic computation in the client disciplines at the Conference on Use of Symbolic Computation in Undergraduate Mathematics, Denison University, Granville, OH, 25--28 June 1992
Organizer, Sloan/Lawrence Conference on Using Computational Resources in the Upper-Division Theoretical Physics Curriculum, 13--14 July 1990
Member, Planning Committee for Conference on Computers in the Undergraduate Curricula, sponsored by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and held at Wingspread, 27--29 October, 1983.
Director, NSF CAUSE Program at Lawrence University, 1978--81. Project focussed on computer-oriented faculty and curriculum development.
Visiting Fellow in Physics, Dartmouth College, 1971--72. Studied instructional computing and developed a library of 60--70 programs.
Participant, Summer Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Colorado, Summer 1962

Professional Societies: American Physical Society; American Association of Physics Teachers

Honors: Society of the Sigma Xi; 1990 Lawrence Outstanding Teaching Award; elected by Forum on Education as Fellow of the American Physical Society, November 2012

Grant Support:

Individual:

NSF 2003 (CCLI-EMD) supplement to 2000 grant for workshop
NSF 2000 (CCLI-EMD) for publishing computer materials
NSF 1997 (ILI) for expanding Physics of Music to include laboratory
NSF 1978--79 (LOCI) for production of instructional video tapes
Lawrence University Educational Development Grants for video tape production, 1973 and 1974
NSF 1971--72 Science Faculty Fellowship

Institutional:

W. M. Keck Foundation 2002 for enhancing signature programs
W. M. Keck Foundation 1994 for capstone senior experiences
NSF 1993 (ILI) for computational physics
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation 1989 for computational physics conference
NSF 1988 (ILI) for computational physics
W. M. Keck Foundation 1988 for computational physics
NSF 1979--81 (CAUSE) for instructional computing
NSF 1969--73 (COSIP) for multidiscipline science improvement

Consulting:

Vassar College, 2,3 November 2000, discussing incorporation of computation into the undergraduate physics curriculum.

Manuscript reviews for American Journal of Physics, 1977--

Physics department reviews: North Central College (IL), 17-19 January 2011; Beloit College (WI), 5-6 February 2009; Moravian College (PA), 8--10 February 2006; Lake Forest College (IL), 18--19 April 2005; Skidmore College (NY), 10--12 October 1993; Kalamazoo College (MI), 7--8 May 1990; Beloit College (WI), 29~Feb -- 1~Mar 1984; Illinois Wesleyan College (IL), 9--11 Dec 1981.

Faculty computer graphics workshops: Carthage College (WI), 4 May 1982; Lake Forest College (IL), 2--3 Jun 1981; Ripon College (WI), 15 and 17 Jan 1981; Lake Forest College (IL), 4--5 June 1980; Alma College (MI), 6--7 June, 1977.

Publications:

AAPT Meetings--Then and Now (Guest Editorial), Phys. Teach. {\bf 48}, March 2010, 149.

Computation in Undergraduate Physics: The Lawrence Approach, Am. J. Phys. 76, 321--326 (April--May, 2008). This theme issue of the American Journal of Physics was published in conjunction with a Gordon Conference held 8--13 June 2008 on the topic ``Computation and Computer-Based Instruction.''

Computation in the Lawrence Physics Curriculum: A Report to the National Science Foundation, the W. M. Keck Foundation, and Departments of Physics on Twenty Years of Curricular Development at Lawrence University, an 82-page report published in December 2006 and distributed at the expense of the 2001 Keck grant to the chairs of all 750 Departments of Physics in the US offering bachelor's degrees in physics and to about 100 other selected individuals.

Solutions to Selected Exercises to accompany Computation and Problem Solving in Undergraduate Physics, self-published by David M. Cook and made generally available starting in the fall of 2003 through a password-protected web site.

Computation and Problem Solving in Undergraduate Physics, self-published by David M.~Cook and made generally available starting in the fall of 2003. Full information at the project web site.

The Theory of the Electromagnetic Field (originally published by Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1975; second printing, December, 1981), reprinted by Dover Publications with publication date of December, 2002. (ISBN 0-486-42567-3)

``Computation in Undergraduate Physics: The Lawrence Approach'', in part 1 of Computational Science--ICCS 2001, ed. Vassil N. Alexandrov et al. (Springer, Berlin, 2001) [ISBN 3-540-42232-3], pp. 1074--1083. (The proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Science--2001.)

``Improving Physics at Lawrence'', with J. R. Brandenberger, Lawrence Today 79, 3 (Spring, 1999), pp. 20--23

``Computers in the Lawrence Physics Curriculum--Parts I, II'', Comput. Phys. 11(3; May/Jun, 1997), 240--245, 11(4; Jul/Aug, 1997), 331--335.

``A Comparison of Several Symbol-Manipulating Programs---Parts I, II'', with Russell Dubisch, Glenn Sowell, Patrick Tam, and Denis Donnelly, Comput. Phys. 6(4; Jul/Aug, 1992), 411--420, 6(5; Sep/Oct, 1992), 530--540.

Editor of and contributor to Computing in Advanced Undergraduate Physics, 240 pages, the proceedings of a conference held at Lawrence University, 13--14 July 1990, published in November, 1990, by Lawrence University

``Computational Exercises for the Upper-Division Undergraduate Physics Curriculum'', Comput. Phys. 4(3; May/June), 308--313 (1990)

``Introducing Computational Tools in the Upper-Division Undergraduate Physics Curriculum'', Comput. Phys. 4(2; Mar/Apr), 197--201 (1990)

Videotaped Problem Solutions for Introductory Physics, Am. J. Phys. 50, 268--269 (1982)

``Illustrative Problems in Physics / Selected Topics in Physics'', Directory of Video Tape Library, Lawrence University, September 1980.

The Theory of the Electromagnetic Field, 510 + xvii pages, and Teachers' Manual, 167 pages (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1975)

``Radiation from Charged Particles in Weakly Inhomogeneous Magnetic Fields'', J. Plasma Phys. 6 (part 1), 33--51 (1971).

Editor and Contributor to Computer Oriented Physics Problems (Commission on College Physics, 1971) 119 pages.

``Trajectory of Charged Particles in Weakly Inhomogeneous Magnetic Fields'', J. Math. Phys. 11, 986--994 (1970).

``Least Squares Fitting of Data to Pseudolinear Relationships'', with W. R. Steinbach, Am. J. Phys. 38, 751--4 (1970).

``Some Electrical Properties of ZnTe-CdS Heterojunctions'', with M. Aven, J. Appl. Phys. 32, 960--1 (1961).

Papers and Talks:

``Computational Exercises for Intermediate Physics Courses'', Contributed poster presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers in Greensboro, NC, 28 July -- 2 August 2007.

``Computation in the Lawrence Physics Curriculum'', Invited poster presented at the American Association of Physics Teachers Topical Conference on Computational Physics for Upper-Level Courses held at Davidson College, Davidson, NC, 27--28 July 2007.

``Introducing Computational Approaches in Intermediate Mechanics'', Invited paper presented at the joint winter meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, WA, 7 January 2007. The abstract for this paper was published in the Bulletin of the AAS, Volume 38, No.~4, pg.~959 (paper 041.02).

``Computation in the Lawrence Physics Curriculum'', Invited poster presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers in Syracuse, NY , 26 July 2006. The abstract for this paper was published in the AAPT Announcer, Volume 36, No. 2, pg. 148 (Summer, 2006).

``Introducing Finite Element Methods in Undergraduate Physics'', Contributed poster presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers in Salt Lake City, UT, 9 August 2005. The abstract for this paper was published in the AAPT Announcer, Volume 35, No. 2, pg. 117 (Summer, 2005).

``A Flexible Text in Computation for Undergraduate Physics Majors'', Contributed paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers in Sacramento, CA, 4 August 2004. The abstract for this paper was published in the AAPT Announcer, Volume 34, No. 2, pg. 178 (Summer, 2004).

``Computation in Undergraduate Physics: The Lawrence Approach'', Poster presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers in Sacramento, CA, 3 August 2004. The abstract for this paper was published in the AAPT Announcer, Volume 34, No. 2, pg. 131 (Summer, 2004).

``Computation in Undergraduate Physics: The Lawrence Approach'', Invited paper presented at the March meeting of the American Physical Society in Montreal, Quebec, 25 March 2004. At the same session, the author also participated as a panelist on the topic of computation in the undergraduate curriculum.

``The Lawrence Workshop on Computation in Upper-Level Undergraduate Physics'', Contributed paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers in Rochester, NY, 23 July 2001. The abstract for this paper was published in the AAPT Announcer, Volume 31, No. 2, pg. 80 (Summer, 2001).

``Computation in Undergraduate Physics: The Lawrence Approach'', Invited paper presented in a session titled Computational Physics in the Undergraduate Curriculum at the International Conference on Computer Science--2001 in San Francisco, CA, 30 May 2001.

``Strengthening Undergraduate Physics at Lawrence University'', Invited paper presented in a session titled Recruiting and Retaining Undergraduate Physics Majors at the April meetings of the American Physical Society in Washington, DC, 30 April 2001. The abstract for this paper was published in the Bulletin of the American Physical Society, Volume 46, No. 2, pg. 117 (April, 2001).

``Preparing Sophomores to Use Computation Independently as Juniors and Seniors'', Invited paper presented at the winter meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers in San Diego, CA, 8 January 2001. The abstract for this paper was published in the AAPT Announcer, Volume 30, No. 4, pg. 79 (Winter, 2000).

``The Physics Behind the Musical Scale'', Physics colloquium presented at Vassar College, 3 November 2001.

``Strengthening Computation in Upper-Level Undergraduate Physics Programs'', Contributed paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, 31 July 2000. The abstract for this paper was published in the AAPT Announcer, Volume 30, No. 2, pg. 74 (Summer, 2000).

``Adding Laboratories to a Course in Physics of Music'', Contributed paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers, San Antonio, TX, ? Aug 1999; abstract published in AAPT Announcer ??, No.~?, ??, (July 1999).

``The Traditional and the Novel in Undergraduate Science Instruction'', presented in the series `Lunch at Lawrence' to friends of Lawrence University, 14 May 1998.

``Physics at Lawrence: Improving a Departmental Program'' (with M. R. Stoneking), presented to the Lawrence Faculty in the third Food For Thought Session on 21 April 1998.

``Physics at Lawrence: A Case Study of Improvement'' (with J. R. Brandenberger), invited paper presented at the Physics Revitalization Conference: Building Undergraduate Physics Programs for the 21st Century held 2-4 October 1998, sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Physics, and Project Kaleidoscope, and supported by the National Science Foundation.

``The Computer-Based Components of the Lawrence Curriculum in Physics'', Invited paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, MD, 7 Aug 1996; abstract published in AAPT Announcer 26, No. 2, 58, (July 1996)

``Treating Partial Differential Equations in the Undergraduate Physics Curriculum'', Contributed paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Spokane, WA, 12 Aug 1995; abstract published in AAPT Announcer 25, No. 2, 105, (July 1995)

``Sample Uses of Computer Algebra in the Undergraduate Physics Curriculum'', Invited paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Boise, ID, 11 Aug 1993; abstract published in AAPT Announcer 23, No. 2, 92, (July 1993)

``Experiences with Computer Algebra in the Undergraduate Physics Curriculum'', Invited paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Orono, ME, 14 Aug 1992; abstract published in AAPT Announcer 22, No. 2, 92, (July 1992)

``Using Computational Tools in Upper Division Theoretical Physics'', Invited talk delivered at Davidson Conference on Computational Physics, Davidson Collage, Davidson, NC (3 October 1991)

``Using Computational Tools in the Upper-Division Theoretical Physics Curriculum'', Physics colloquium delivered at Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI (12 September 1991)

``Computational Tools in the Upper-Division Theoretical Curriculum'', Invited talk presented at the spring meeting of the Pacific Northwest Association for College Physics, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA (6 April 1991)

``The Sloan/Lawrence Conference on Using Computers in Upper-Division Theoretical Physics: 13--14 July 1990'', Invited paper delivered at the winter meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers, San Antonio, Texas (21 January 1991); abstract published in AAPT Announcer 20, No. 4, 37, (December, 1990)

``Using Computational Tools in the Upper-Division Theoretical Physics Curriculum'', Physics colloquium delivered at the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire (12 October 1990)

``Computational Tools in Intermediate Electromagnetic Theory'', Contributed paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Minneapolis, MN, 30 June 1990; abstract published in AAPT Announcer 20, No. 2, 84, (May 1990)

``Computational Physics in the Upper-Division, Undergraduate Curriculum'', presented as a physics colloquium at Hope College, Holland, Michigan, on 1 November 1989

``Building the Expertise of Undergraduates in Computational Physics'', presented as a physics colloquium at University of Nebraska (Lincoln), 27 September 1989; presented as a physics colloquium at Kansas State University (Manhattan) 28 September 1989

``Building the Expertise of Undergraduates in Computational Physics'', Invited paper presented at the summer meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers, San Luis Obispo, CA, 30 June 1989; abstract published in AAPT Announcer 19, No. 2, 80, (May 1989)

``The Response of Liberal Arts Curricula to Modern Computing'', presented on 28 October 1983 at the ACM Wingspread Conference on Computers in the Undergraduate Curriculum.

``Video-Taped Problem Solutions for Introductory Physics'', presented at meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Troy, NY, 27 June 1980; AAPT Announcer, Vol. 10 ( #2), 99 (May, 1980). Presentation included showing sample tapes in another session at the same meeting.

``On Particle Orbits in a Time Varying Magnetic Field'', with H. C. S. Hsuan, presented at meeting of Division of Plasma Physics of American Physical Society, Madison, 16 Nov 1971; Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. Series II, Vol. 16, 1253 (1971).

``Least Squares Fitting to Pseudolinear Relationships'', presented at meeting of Wisconsin Section of American Association of Physics Teachers, Oshkosh, 7 May 1971.