Dr. Eric J. Chaisson is Director of the H. Dudley Wright
Center for Innovative Science Education at Tufts University,
where he is also Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy and
Research Professor of Education. He is also an Associate of the
Harvard College Observatory, where he teaches introductory
astrophysics, and Affiliate-director of the Massachusetts Space
Grant Consortium, based at MIT.
Trained initially in atomic physics, Chaisson obtained his
doctorate in astrophysics from Harvard University in 1972.
Before assuming his current position, he spent a decade as a
member of Harvard's Faculty of Arts & Sciences. During his
tenure as associate professor at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics, Chaisson's research concentrated largely on
the radio astronomical study of interstellar gas clouds. This
work won him fellowships from the National Academy of Sciences
and the Sloan Foundation, as well as Harvard's Bok Prize for
original contributions to astrophysics and Harvard's Smith-Weld
Prize for literary merit. He has also held research and teaching
positions at MIT and Wellesley College and, before joining
Tufts, was a scientist on the senior staff and director of
educational programs at the Space Telescope Science Institute at
Johns Hopkins University. He has more than 100 publications to
his credit, most of them in the professional journals.
Chaisson's major research interests are currently twofold:
His scientific research focuses on an interdisciplinary,
thermodynamic study of physical and biological phenomena,
thereby searching for the origin, evolution, and unification of
galaxies, stars, planets, and life forms in the Universe. His
educational research engages experienced teachers and computer
animators to discover better methods, technological aids, and
novel curricula to enthuse teachers and instruct students in all
aspects of natural science. He currently teaches an
undergraduate course at Harvard University on the subject of
cosmic evolution, which combines both of these research and
educational goals.
In order to share the essence of his research and teaching
with a wide audience, Chaisson has written several books,
including Cosmic Dawn which won several literary awards
such as the Phi Beta Kappa Prize, the American Institute of
Physics Award, and a National Book Award Nomination for
distinguished science writing. His other books include two works
on relativity, a textbook on cosmic evolution, and a volume
(co-authored with George Field) outlining the scientific
rationale for the United States' national space policy. Another
book, The Hubble Wars, also won the American Institute
of Physics Science Writing Award, and his popular textbook,
Astronomy Today (co-authored with Steve McMillan), is
the most widely used college astronomy textbook in the nation.
His most current books, Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of
Complexity in Nature, and Epic of Evolution: Seven Ages
of the Cosmos, were published by Harvard and Columbia
University Presses, respectively.
Chaisson holds membership in numerous American and international scientific organizations, several honor societies, and a host of academic, public, and federal advisory committees.
selected books
Epic of Evolution: Seven Ages of the Cosmos
(Columbia University Press; New Ed edition, 2007)
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Astonomy Todaywith Steve McMillan (Prentice Hall, 2005)
http://www.prenhall.com/chaisson/details2.htmlCosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature(Harvard University Press; Reprint edition, 2002)
Buy at Amazon