To contact Dr. Selby, please send email to:
Kathy
Selby, Ph.D.
Senior
Lecturer, Department of Physics, Cornell University
DEGREES
AND AWARDS
B.A. Hons., 1983, Oxford University, England; M.A., 1988, Oxford
University; M.Sc., Physics, 1989, University of California at Berkeley; Ph.D.,
Physics, 1990, University of California at Berkeley; Oxford University Scholarships,
1980, 1981, 1982; Hellman Fellowship, 1984, 1987; Whiting Fellowship, 1985;
Lenzen Scholarship, 1986.
COURSES
TAUGHT AT CORNELL
P204 The Physics of Musical Sound (Lecturer)
P207, P208 Fundamentals of Physics I & II (Senior Staff)
P112 Physics I: Mechanics (Senior Staff)
P213 Physics II: Heat and Electromagnetism (Senior Staff)
TEACHING
INTERESTS
I am particularly interested in teaching physics to students
who may not have had much previous experience studying science. I believe
that anyone can understand physics, and enjoy the experience of studying it!
I especially enjoy teaching The Physics of Musical Sound, which connects the
three things I am most passionate about: physics, music and teaching.
PREVIOUS
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
My Ph.D. research investigated the electronic structure of
clusters, tiny particles of less than 100 atoms, with behavior lying between
that of atoms and solid matter. Clusters are a "mesoscopic" state
of matter where many interesting quantum mechanical phenomena occur. A type
of clusters being studied avidly today are "Buckyballs".
From 1991-2001 I was a researcher at The
University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), doing research in medical
imaging, mostly with MRI. My research included imaging and fluid dynamics
of diseased arteries and studies on osteoporosis and arthritis. I worked with
UCSF's Vascular Imaging
Research Center, Osteoporosis
Research Group and Magnetic
Resonance Science Center, and also with the Fluid
Mechanics Laboratory at UC Berkeley.
MUSIC
AND CHILDREN
When I am not teaching physics, I am usually playing or teaching the fiddle,
or looking after my rambunctious children, Michael and Owen.