Porter W. Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics
BCPS Dept./Physics Div.
Office: 296 Life Sciences Building
Office Hours:
Phone: 312.567.5745
Fax: 312.567.3494
Email:
johnsonpo@iit.edu
Web:
Porter Johnson's webpage
Expertise
- Theoretical Physics
Education
- B.S, Case Institute of Technology
- Ph.D, Princeton University
- MA (Physics) Princeton University, Princeton NJ (1965)
Curriculum Vitae
Research & Major Accomplishments
In Summer 2000 I became co-director of the SMART [Science and Mathematics through Application of Relevant Technology] program, in which teachers learn to develop interactive web-based lessons in mathematics and science. This program has operated during the academic year as well as the summer.
My research interests lie in high energy theoretical physics, and especially in dynamical mass generation in formally massless quantum field theories. I have carried out a number of studies of fermion mass generation in Quantum Electrodynamics in three and four dimensions. The interest lies in QED in its own right, as well as in other theories in which the effective coupling strength varies quite slowly with changing momentum scale. Over the years I have been a close collaborator with Professor (Emeritus) D. Atkinson and other members of the Institute for Theoretical Physics of the State University of Groningen [Rijksuniversiteit te Groningen], in the Netherlands.
I have an avid interest in THE PHYSICS OF BASEBALL, and have spoken frequently to groups of students and high school teachers on this subject. In addition, I have appeared frequently on radio and television programs, and have provided background information for newspapers. Check out my other web page: http://www.iit.edu/~johnsonp
Current Projects
- Writing a book on Classical Mechanics, during a sabbatical leave in 2007-2008.
Awards/Honors
Patents
Books
Selected Publications
Relativity for the Mind: An Introduction for Scientists
Porter Wear Johnson
Rinton Press 2007.
203 pages; ISBN 1-58949-054-1
Exercises in Quantum Field Theory: A Self-contained Book with Questions and Answers
David Atkinson and Porter Wear Johnson
Rinton Press 2004.
256 pages; ISBN 1-58949-031-2
Exercises in Quantum Mechanics: A Self-contained Book with Questions and Answers
David Atkinson Mahouten Norbert Hounkounnou, and Porter Wear Johnson
Rinton Press 2003.
200 pages; ISBN 1-58949-026-6
Quantum Field Theory: A Self-Contained Course
David Atkinson and Porter Wear Johnson
Rinton Press 2002.
216 pages; ISBN 1-58949-024-X
72 Scientific Publications in refereed journals
For details click here: http://www.iit.edu/~johnsonp/resume.html

