Home Page of Dr. Kyle Forinash

  • Official office hours (2007 - 2008):
    • I am not teaching this summer so my schedule will be irregular. Contact me by email.
    • If my door is open, come on in!
  • Some comments about teaching to my students.
  • Phone:
    • Office and voice mail: (812) 941-2039
    • School of Natural Science secretary: (812) 941-2284
    • School of Natural Science  fax: (812) 941-2637
  • Office room number: Physical Sciences 101B
  • Email: kforinas @ ius.edu
  • Mailing address: School of Natural Sciences, Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN. 47150.
  • IUS Physics Homepage.
  • IUS Homepage.

Other:

 Randomized.

Research and Creative  interests:

From 1990 until about 2001 I worked with groups at Los Alamos and in France on simplistic computer models which model the collective behavior of a chain of point masses joined by nonlinear coupling forces or nonlinear on-site potentials. These kinds of simple models provide insight into nonlinear behavior in discrete systems (such as solids) in general and possibly point the way toward understanding the behavior of more complicated systems such as real biological polymers, for example DNA. The possibility that nonlinear vibrations play an important role in the dynamics of large organic molecules has been vigorously debated in the literature over the past several years. Should it turn out that such nonlinear vibrations play an important role in the biological activity of large organic molecules, a better understanding of their behavior will play an integral part in comprehending the dynamically properties of such basic life processes as DNA unzipping during replication.

Since the early 1990s I have also worked with Ray Wisman and Bill Rumsey on the use of web based material in teaching. The three of us set up the very first web servers for the IUS campus in 1994, establishing IUS as the first IU regional campus having a web presence. Ray and I have also spent significant time in finding easy and inexpensive ways to interface physics experiments and equipment to computers. This includes providing remote access to and control of real physics experiments via the Internet. Over the past several years I have, using open source tools, created on-line simulations and tutorial materials for use at the introductory physics level. I received a Summer Faculty Fellowship for the summer of 2005 to work on curriculum material about waves:  Waves: An Interactive Tutorial (under construction). I spent my sabbatical leave for the academic year 2006-2007 in Argentina where I gave classes and lectures about web based learning at several universities.

Since 1999 I have also been exploring the environmental physics literature. The world energy supply and its heavy dependence on fossil fuels is a particularly interesting topic. Some of the material collected by students in my environmental physics course P310 can be seen on the IUS Environmental Physics Web Page. My Power Point talk on energy can be found at: Ending the Oil Addiction; What will it take?
 

Representative publications, presentations, projects (not a complete resume'!):

Physics at IUS
Contact Dr. K. Forinash, for comments/suggestions/corrections.