FEATURED AUTHOR
Jeff C. Bryan
Growing up, Jeff C. Bryan put a poster of the Chart of the Nuclides up on his bedroom wall. Yes, he's that much of a nerd. Now, he teaches students how to use this chart to better understand nuclear science. He believes that nuclear stuff, especially radiation, is widely misunderstood, and is on a mission to bring a greater understanding of nuclear science to the masses ... well, to a few people at least. He wrote an introductory textbook and co-authored a lab manual—they're pretty good.
Biography
Jeff C. Bryan was born in Minnesota and raised in California, and believes that his odd childhood mixture of Jell-O™ salad and reticence in a free and open society have caused his various personality quirks. He earned an A.B. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. In chemistry from the University of Washington. He then spent a year of postdoctoral work with Warren Roper at Auckland University.He spent five years at Los Alamos National Laboratory, initially as a postdoctoral fellow, then as a staff member, initiating a modestly successful research program synthesizing new compounds of technetium. He then spent eight years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory working on the development of a process to separate 137Cs from defense wastes.
He joined the chemistry faculty of the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse in 2002, where, despite his best efforts, he has been promoted to full professor. He currently teaches nuclear and general chemistry courses, but has also taught radiation physics and analytical chemistry. His scholarship focuses on making nuclear science more accessible to students with limited science and math backgrounds. As part of this effort, he authored a textbook titled Introduction to Nuclear Science, and coauthored a lab manual titled Experiments in Nuclear Science.
Education
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Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle, 1988
A.B., University of California, Berkeley, 1982
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Most of my research efforts focus on making nuclear chemistry and physics more accessible to students and the general public. I've recently published a textbook through CRC Press, which attempts to do just that. I’ve also been fortunate to co-author a lab manual with Rutgers emeritus chemistry professor Sidney Katz. Future work includes writing a nuclear chemistry chapter for use in a general chemistry textbook, a book debunking various myths about radiation, the development of a 3-D chart of the nuclides for the web, and nuclear podcasts.
I’m also currently working with other faculty at UW-La Crosse to analyze environmental samples for radioactive nuclides. Just about everything is radioactive; one of the interesting questions is its origin.
Personal Interests
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Lawn care, home improvement, baseball, Star Trek, computer games, and other nerdy stuff
Websites
Books
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