Book inflation

How many books are published each year? I’ll provide some numbers that were a surprise to me when I learned them a few years ago. First, some context. At the American Physical Society “March Meeting” two months ago, I was part of a workshop on Communicating Biological Physics. Four of us gave presentations and led … Continue reading Book inflation

“Eighty percent of success is showing up” — Physics of Energy and the Environment, Winter 2023

The quote in the title is from Woody Allen, and you’ll see below why it’s appropriate for this course recap. This past term I again taught “Physics of Energy and the Environment,” a class for non-science-major undergraduates at the University of Oregon. I enjoy teaching this topic and in some ways this round was better … Continue reading “Eighty percent of success is showing up” — Physics of Energy and the Environment, Winter 2023

10 Double the number of Computer Science majors / 20 GOTO 10

In my last post, I plotted trends in various college majors, comparing how the numbers of degrees awarded in a range of subjects have grown or shrunk over the decade 2011-2021. I compared my university, the University of Oregon, and other R1 (“Very high research activity”) universities. This post focuses on computer science and closely … Continue reading 10 Double the number of Computer Science majors / 20 GOTO 10

How can a swarm swarm? — What is biophysics? #13

Herds of wildebeest, swarms of bees, and schools of fish all provide mesmerizing displays of coordinated motion. Fish, birds, and other animals numbering even in the millions can act as one not through centralized control, but through local actions and decisions, as each individual assesses the speed and orientation of its neighbors. This self-organization is … Continue reading How can a swarm swarm? — What is biophysics? #13