Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)

We’d love to talk to you!  See research positions available.

Absolutely!  See our position on open source science.  We have been pleased to work with citizen scientists from K-12, the community at large, and industry many times.  Feel free to get in touch!

Mostly we hang out in cafes and think about the universe.  Also we travel the world because there is no substitute for discovering together in person.  Once in a while we wake up in the middle of the night shouting, “Ah ha!”  Our significant others tend to be very patient people.

I don’t manage, I collaborate.  The main difference between my students and me is I’ve made more mistakes.

The humanities is much older and better developed than the sciences, and presents totally different paradigms.  So in fact studying the humanities makes me a better researcher.  For instance, I found a connection between measures of brain states and quantum states after writing and performing plays based on quantum logic with my humanities students.  The great scientific problems will not be solved within the scientific paradigm alone — see Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez and Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman.

Learning begins with listening.  Scientists who ignore or belittle “crunchy science” are making a mistake.  For example, science can be used as a metaphor, which is quite beautiful and also a compliment.  With listening comes understanding and then dialog.

I engage in volunteer science and engineering diplomacy with the US Department of State, and through State the world, as an act of service.  I believe in service to humanity, both as a professor and as a human being.  I have never been paid by the US government.