Nicholas J. Giordano
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Hubert James Distinguished Professor of Physics and Department Head contact me Office: Physics B62 Telephone: (765) 494-6418 Fax: (765) 494-0706 |
B.S., Purdue University, 1973
Ph.D., Yale University, 1977
Research Interests
- The physics of nanostructures and mesoscopic systems
My group studies the properties of very small metallic systems, including such phenomena as the Kondo effect in one and two dimensions, the behavior of domain walls in very narrow ferromagnetic wires, and fluid flow in extremely small structures. Students who have recently been involved in this work include Todd Jacobs, Baris Cetin, Jiangtao Cheng, and Jacob Millspaw. More details along with some of our recent papers are given on our mesoscopic page. - Musical acoustics and the physics of the piano
We are studying why the piano sounds like a piano. We are developing a physical model of the piano - this model will use Newton's laws to calculate the motion of all of the pieces of a piano along with the sound pressure which is produced. This work also involves experimental studies of piano hammers, strings, and soundboards. This work has been done by Andy Korty, James Winans, Stu Dietz, John Millis, James Roberts, and Laura Rueff. More details of this work, including some of our recent publications are given at our piano www pages. - Computational neuroscience
We are starting several projects in the area of computational neuroscience. This work has to do with the nervous system, and how it does various sorts of "computations". We are interested in the detailed physics, biophysics, and neuroscience of how signals are generated and propagate in the brain, and in how the brain processes these signals. These projects are described in more detail on our neuroscience page, where our publications in this area can be found. This work has been done by Jasper Wang and Zhouhan Liang. - Computational physics
I have a long standing interest in doing and teaching computational physics. This work includes the musical acoustics described above, along with my book Computational Physics (Prentice-Hall) which was developed when I taught a course on this topic.
Also available here is material related to my Computers in Physics article on vibrating strings. - Guitar acoustics
We have just begun some modeling studies of the guitar. Some information on this work and some calculated guitar tones can be found here.
Graduate Students
B. Cetin, began work in June 1999; Ph.D. expected May, 2004.
J.M. Millspaw, began work June 2000.
Awards and Honors
· Purdue University Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in memory of Charles B. Murphy 2003
· Computational Science Education Award 1997
· Herbert Newby McCoy Award, Purdue University 1992
· Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellow 1979-83
· Consultant for Olin Corporation, Metals Research Group 1976
· Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Kappa Phi; Sigma Pi Sigma
· Richard W. King Award as the outstanding undergraduate physics major, Purdue University 1972 & 1973
· Becton Prize for accomplishments in research, Yale University 1977
· National Science Foundation Fellowship 1974-76
· Yale University Sheffield Fellowship 1973-74
Professional Experience
· Assistant Dean of Science, Purdue University 2000-03
· Professor, Purdue University 1985-present
· Associate Professor, Purdue University 1982-85
· Assistant Professor, Purdue University 1979-82
· Assistant Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University June 1977 - June 1979
· Visiting Scientist, Hahn-Meitner Institute June-August 1977
· Acting Instructor, Yale University January - June 1977
Professional and Scholarly Activities
· Member, Teaching Academy 2003
· Fellow, American Physical Society
· Member, Program Committee, Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 1978
· Referee for the International Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, Physical Review, Physical Review Letters, and Europhysics Letters
· Member, Review Panel for National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships 1990-92
· Advisory Committee for the 19th International Conference on Low Temperature Physics 1993
· Organizing Committee for LT-19 Satellite Conference on Weak Localization and Mesoscopic Systems 1993
· Editorial Board, Purdue University Press 1991-94
· Advisory Board of J. Phys. Condensed Matter 1995-present
· Organizing Committee for LT-20 Satellite Conference on Weak Localization and Mesoscopic Systems
