eBook: Physics: A Conceptual World View, 7th Edition

Larry Kirkpatrick has always been a teacher; he just didn't know it. After receiving a B.S. in physics from Washington State University and a Ph.D. in experimental high-energy physics from MIT, he began his academic career at the University of Washington as a typical faculty member. However, he found that he was spending more and more time in the classroom and less and less time in the laboratory. Finally, he decided that he would get a position teaching physics full time or he would quit physics and use his computer skills to make lots of money. Fortunately, Montana State University hired him to teach physics. He served for eight years as academic director of the U.S. Physics Team that competes in the International Physics Olympiad each summer and has also served as President of the American Association of Physics Teachers. He retired in 2002 to concentrate on teaching, writing, ranching, and playing golf.

Greg Francis is a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. He earned his Ph.D. in cognitive and neural systems from Boston University in 1993. His research investigates properties of neural networks and visual perception. He also was coauthor of the Coglab Reader, Coglab on a CD, and Social Psychology Laboratory.