Wizard Profiles
Professor David Nesbitt -
"Chemistry in the Kitchen" 
Senior Wizard David Nesbitt has been with the CU
Wizards Show for almost 20 years. Professor Nesbitt is the
current chair of the JILA Institute at the University of
Colorado at Boulder, where he teaches and conducts
groundbreaking research on the behavior of the molecular
world and mentors up and coming new scientists. He is
especially interested in laser spectroscopy and the kinetics
of biomolecular and nanoparticle systems. To learn more
about Professor Nesbitt’s research, visit
http://jilawww.colorado.edu/~djn
Andrew Hamilton is an astrophysicist known for his scientifically accurate general relativistic visualizations of black holes, which have appeared on a number of TV documentary programs, including Nova and National Geographic, in a show at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and on the web, including on YouTube.
His computerized renderings, which take viewers into black holes utilizing video game software developed by Silicon Graphics and are based on Einstein’s equations, are designed to visualize the unseen, he told The New York Times. “When I started this, I had no idea what would emerge from the equations,” he said.
Dr. Hamilton, who has published broadly in the fields of astrophysics, cosmology and relativity, is Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Fellow at the JILA research institute.
Professor and CU Wizard Janet
De Grazia presents the “Go With the Flow” show at CU
Wizards. She is a senior instructor in the University’s
Department of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering. Main
research focuses include engineering education for children
and how to improve instruction. She is the director of
outreach for the integrated teaching and learning lab and
named the “Professor Who Makes A Difference,” in Mechanical
Engineering, 2000. Professor De Grazia was awarded the
Sullivan-Carlson Innovation for Teaching award in 1999.
Professor Noel Clark, along with Professor David Walba has presented the “Liquid Crystals” show here at CU Wizards. Prof. Clark teaches Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. Clark conducts research with the Liquid Crystals Group and his work is directed towards understanding and using the properties of condensed phases. His research ranges from experiments on the fundamental physics of phase transitions, such as melting, to the development of liquid crystal electro-optic light valves. For more information about the Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Research Center, visit their Web site at http://lcmrc.colorado.edu/
Prof. Margaret Murnane – “Lasers
and Light!”
Professor Murnane is one of
the CU Wizards that leads the “Lasers and Light” show. She
is a fellow here at JILA in the Department of Physics and
Electrical and Computer Engineerin, and is a NIST senior
research scientist. Professor Murnane has been the recipient
of the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award from the American Physical
Society in 1997 and was a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Fellow in 2000. She co-leads the Kapteyn/Murnane Research
Group with Professor Henry C. Kapteyn.
Professor Kapteyn teams with
Professor Murnane to bring you the “Lasers and Light” show
at CU Wizards. Professor Kapteyn is also a fellow at JILA
and instructor of physics at the University of Colorado,
Boulder. He has won several awards, including a National
Science Foundation Young Investigator Award in 1992 and the
Adolph Lomb Medal from the Optical Society of America in
1993. Professor Kapteyn is co-lead on the Kapteyn/Murnane
Research Group, which integrates research from the areas of
atomic & molecular physics, chemical physics, materials
physics, chemistry and optical physics. This group is
dedicated to understanding the use of electromagnetic
radiation, including the application of laser and x-ray
sources. For additional information, visit the Web site, http://jila.www.colorado.edu/kmgroup/index.htm
Prof. Thomas Cech – “Chemistry of
Life!”
Professor Thomas Cech is a
distinguished professor and director of the Cech Laboratory
at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Professor Cech has
won several awards, including the 1989 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry, which he shared with Sidney Altman of Yale for
their independent work with the catalytic properties of RNA.
To learn more about Professor Cech, visit his Web site at http://cechlab.colorado.edu
Professor James T. “Casey”
Hynes teaches chemistry and biochemistry at the University
of Colorado at Boulder. He has won several awards, including
the ACS Hildebrand Award in Theory and Experiment of Liquids
in 2005. His work focuses on the theory of chemical
reactions in solutions and at interfaces, and the theory of
vibrational flow from and in molecules in solution. To learn
more about Prof. Hynes’s research, visit his Web site at http://www.colorado.edu/chem/DEC/people/hynesj.html
Prof. Jim Faller – “Physics of
Sports!”
Professor Jim Faller is an
Adjoint Professor at JILA. He has received several awards,
including the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal
in 1973 and the Arnold O. Beckman Award of the Instrument
Society of America in 1970. Professor Faller’s research
interests include geophysics, experimental relativity,
precision measurement, and null experiments.
Professor Rowlen teaches
chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Colorado,
Boulder. She has won several awards, including the Beckman
Foundation Young Investigator Award from 1991-1993 and the
National Science Foundation Career Award from 1995-1998.
Professor Rowlen’s research focuses on bioanalytical
chemistry, sprectroscopy and nanotechnology.
Professor Eric Cornell is a JILA
fellow and research physicist and fellow of NIST who teaches
Physics here at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Professor Cornell won the Nobel Prize for physics in 2001
for his work on the Creation of the Bose-Einstein Condensate
(1995). He is the principle investigator of the Cornell
Group, researching primarily atomic and molecular physics,
precision measurement, the Bose-Einstein Condensate and
extremely cold atomic gases.
Prof. Paul Beale – “Clocks and
Time!”
Professor Paul D. Beale is a
professor of physics at the University of Colorado at
Boulder. He has won several awards, including the Boulder
Faculty Assembly in Teaching Award in 2004. Professor
Beale’s research interests include theoretical condensed
matter physics. To find out more about his research, visit
his Web site at http://spot.colorado.edu/~beale
Professor Taylor started the CU
Wizards show in 1979 and is a retired professor of physics
for the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has received
several research and teaching awards, including the Hazel
Barnes Prize in 1999 (the highest award at CU for
recognition of research and teaching) and an Emmy Award for
his work on the KCNC physics television series, Physics
4Fun, from 1988-1990.
