Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty
Philippe Binder
Ph.D., Yale University, 1989
Professor Binder joined UH Hilo in 2001, and is currently a Professor of Physics. He taught for six years at the Universidad de Los Andes, in Bogota, Colombia, before joining UH Hilo. He has taught Introductory Physics, Modern Physics, Classical Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics I and II, Chaos and Mathematical Physics. He is currently an elected member of the UH Hilo Faculty Congress. His research in nonlinear dynamics and complex systems is currently supported by a Cottrell Award from Research Corporation and actively involves undergraduate students. Dr. Binder is a referee for Chaos, the Physical Review, and the American Journal of Physics, and has biographies in “Who's Who in American Education” and “Who's Who in Science and Engineering.” Prof. Binder was selected Scholar at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Santa Barbara, California, for the period 2006-2009.
Details of Professor Binder's research, and publications, can be found on his Research Page.
Richard A. Crowe
Ph.D., University of Toronto, Canada, 1984
Dr. Richard Crowe, is a Professor of Physics & Astronomy at the University
of Hawai`i Hilo (UH Hilo). He has been a member of the UH Hilo faculty since
1987. His teaching responsibilities have ranged from introductory physics
and astronomy to senior level astrophysics and quantum mechanics.
Dr. Crowe obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Astronomy from the University
of Western Ontario and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1984.
Between 1977-79, he was the Resident Observer for the University of Toronto
24-inch Southern Observatory at Las Campanas, Chile. He was the Canadian
Resident Astronomer for the Canada-France-Hawai`i Telescope (CFHT) from
1984-87. During his residency at CFHT, he had scientific responsibility
for the high-resolution spectrograph, and was the observatory's public relations
officer and prepared the publication of the CFHT Information Bulletin. Dr.
Crowe's research interests are in the areas of pulsating stars, stellar
evolution and spectroscopy with some 30 scientific publications in the fields.
He has also published a dozen scholarly articles and 18 Hawai`i newspaper
articles in the area of science education and criticism of pseudoscience.
Prof. Crowe has taken a partial leave of absence from teaching duties at
UH to work at the `Imiloa Astronomy Center on the UH Hilo campus.
Details of Professor Crowe's research can be found on his personal web page
and his Research Page. His publications
are listed in the Astrophysics
Data System listings.
Robert A. Fox
Ph.D., New York University, 1971
Professor Fox is a Professor of Physics at UH Hilo. He obtained his B.S. in Physics, from New York University, in 1964, and his M.A. in and Ph.D., from New York University, in Experimental Physics, in 1971. Professor Fox has taught courses in Astronomy and virtually every course in the UH Hilo Physics curriculum. He is the originator of Hilo's Physics for the Liberal Arts course. His wide-ranging interests both inside and outside of Physics have led him to teach courses in the Social Psychology of Groups, Social Psychology of Leadership and Hawaiian Mediation Training. Professor Fox's original research interests were in multiphoton photoionization of neutral alkali beams, which later developed into such diverse areas as positron chemistry and fish-fin regeneration in alternating electromagnetic fields.
Currently, Professor Fox's research interests are divided into three areas. As part of PISCES (Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems) he provides management and technical onsite support for a University Center designed to create a support structure for studies leading to the creation of sustainable human Habitats on Mars and the Moon, with a current funding level of $400,000/year. As part of the multi-national ASHRA (All-sky Survey High- Resolution Air Shower detector), he studies extremely high-energy cosmic radiation by observing both nitrogen fluorescence and Cherenkov radiation. As co-director of the University of Hawaii Charter School Resource Center, Professor Fox provides training for Charter Schools parent groups and local school Boards, serves directly on the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences Public Charter School, and organizes statewide conferences and workshops. He also conducts research into charter school issues with particular focus on state law and policy matters. Details of Professor Fox's research, and publications, can be found on his Research Page at this site.
ProfessorFox currently serves as the Chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is the Deputy Director of PISCES, and is co-Director of the University of Hawaii Charter School Resource Center.
John C. Hamiltion
M.S., University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1980
UHH Instructor of Physics and Astronomy. His teaching responsibilities at UHH have included General Astronomy and Principles of Astronomy. His research interests are extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, and neutrinos.
William D. Heacox
Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1977
UH Hilo Professor of Astronomy, and a member of the UH Hilo faculty since
1986. His teaching responsibilities have included the following courses:
General Astronomy, Principles of Astronomy, Cosmology, Observational Astronomy,
Computational Physics and Astronomy, Stellar/Galactic Astrophysics, Comparative
Planetology, Comparative Planetary Atmospheres, General Physics and Laboratory,
Thermodynamics, Optics, Senior Laboratory/ Thesis, and Special Topics in
Astrophysics: General Relativity.
Professor Heacox holds advanced degrees in mathematics, physics, and astronomy.
He has published original research in planetary, stellar, and galactic
astronomy; optics; and geophysics. His research interests include the formation
and evolution of stellar and planetary systems, mathematical astronomy,
dynamics of many-body astronomical systems, and astronomical instrumentation.
His research is funded by grants from NASA, the National Science Foundation,
and private foundations. Details of Professor Heacox's research, and publications,
can be found on his Research
Page at this site.
Professor Heacox has held professional appointments at NASA's Goddard and Johnson Space Flight Centers, the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory (University of Arizona), the Institute for Astronomy (University of Hawaii), and Carter Observatory (New Zealand). He is a combat veteran of the Vietnam conflict and trained as an astronaut candidate.
Norman G. Purves
M.S., University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1979
UHH Instructor of Physics and Astronomy. His teaching responsibilities at UHH are General Physics Laboratory, General Astronomy and Laboratory, and Physics for the Liberal Arts.