Alan M. Nathan, Professor Emeritus of Physics

Alan Nathan has been a Professor at the University of Illinois Department of Physics since 1977. His research specialty is experimental nuclear/particle physics, with over 80 publications in scientific journals to his credit. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Alan Nathan being interviewed
Alan nathan being interviewed for a National Geographic television special on baseball.

For the last decade he has added the physics of baseball to his research portfolio and has written numerous papers on the subject for scientific journals, primarily on the physics of the ball-bat collision and the aerodynamics of baseball in flight. In addition, he has given many talks on the subject to both scientific and popular audiences and maintains a "Physics of Baseball" web site that is visited frequently. He is the former Chair of SABR's Baseball &Science Committee and a member of scientific panels that advise the NCAA and USA Baseball on issues related to bat performance.

Biographical Data:

  • Ph.D. Physics, Princeton University, 1975
  • M.A. Physics, Princeton University, 1972
  • B.S. Physics, University of Maryland, 1968

Academic Positions Held:

  • Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois, 2009-
  • Associate Head, Department of Physics, University of Illinois, 2002-2005
  • Center for Advanced Study University of Illinois, Fall 1998
  • Professor, University of Illinois, l985-2008
  • Assoc. Professor, University of Illinois, 1980-l985
  • Assist. Dean, College of Enginineering University of Illinois, 1980-81
  • Assist. Professor, University of Illinois, 1977-80

Other Positions:

  • Sabbatical Leave, University of Washington, 1991-92
  • Sabbatical Leave, C.E.A. Saclay, 1983-84
  • Visiting Scientist, Brookhaven National Lab, Summer 1980, 1982
  • Assistant Physicis, Brookhaven National Lab, 1977
  • Research Associate, Brookhaven National Lab, 1975-77

Professional Registrations:

  • Fellow, American Physical Society
  • Member, American Association of Physics Teachers

Areas of Research:

  • Experimental medium energy physics
  • Physics of Sports
  • Ph.D. thesis title: A measurement of the radiative widths of the 16.6 and 16.9 MeV doublet in 8Be.

Graduate Thesis Research Advising:

  • Ph.D. Degrees Granted: 9

Publications

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