Communicating Science to the public -- and especially to kids -- is one of the most delightful parts of being a professional scientist.  I’m happily involved in a handful of outreach activities, including:

MathCamp

1. 
   

2. I am a member of the Board of Directors and, since 2006, a regular lecturer at MathCamp.  Canada/USA MathCamp is

   

   an intensive 5-week-long summer program for mathematically talented high school students, designed to expose these students to the beauty of advanced mathematical ideas and to new ways of thinking. At Mathcamp, students can explore undergraduate and even graduate-level topics while building problem-solving skills that will help them in any field they choose to study.
   

Open Courseware: Quantum Mechanics

1. During the spring semesters of  ‘10-’13, I lectured MIT’s Intro Quantum Mechanics course, 8.04.  In Spring 2013,

   

   MIT’s Open Courseware (OCW) worked with me to record the lectures and archive the course materials.  The resulting OCW course is now available and free to the public.
   

New England Aquarium

1. Together with Keith Ellenbogen, I developed a program of high-speed underwater video and still photography for the

   

   New England Aquarium.  In 2013, together with Jason O’Connell and colleagues at Tech Imaging, Keith and I filmed a series of shots for the NEA’s summer advertising campaign (appearing on taxis and subway stops around Boston).  A set of TV ads featuring our high-speed videos appeared in August 2013 (Lionfish, Blacknose Shark, Balloonfish).  I am also involved in the NEA’s public lecture series, and was part of the NEA’s most recent expedition to Fiji.
   

Boston Museum of Science

1. Together with Keith Ellenbogen, Don Campbell and Daniel Davis, and with the help of Tech Imaging and Hadland Imaging,

   

   I created ultra-high-speed images of spark propagation for the Boston Museum of Science’s “Young Innovator” program.  Shooting at 10,000,000 frames per second, we were able to discover surprising new results about sparks from the Museum’s giant Van de Graaff generator --- for example, that dielectric breakdown often initiates in midair rather than at either cathode or anode.   Initially created as part of the MoS public outreach program, these images turn out to be sufficiently scientifically interesting that we are continuing the project for both scientific and outreach purposes.
   

Public Speaking

1. Sharing the excitement of science -- of discovery! -- with a room

   

   full of people is a real treat.  I’ve had the great opportunity to speak in a number of formats and venues, including PBS/NOVA’s Secret Life of Scientists, a couple of TED talks (including this improvised talk given the day after the BICEP2 discovery, which was a fascinating experience on a whole bunch of levels), and an upcoming talk at The Nantucket Project.