Learn About UW-Marinette

FACULTY RESUMES

PAUL S. ERDMAN
Office: University of Wisconsin - Marinette
750 W Bay Shore St
(715) 735-4328

Home: 771 Oak St.
Peshtigo WI 54157
Marinette WI 54143 (715) 582-9923

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, Iowa City, IA.
Ph.D. Physics, May 1996
Advisor: William C. Stwalley, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
Thesis: "Optical Absorption of Alkali Metal Vapors at High Temperatures."

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY, Fort Collins, CO.
Physics, 1985-1987

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO, Chicago, IL.
Physics, 1984-1985

DRAKE UNIVERSITY, Des Moines, IA.
M.S. Physics, 1985

CARLETON COLLEGE, Northfield, MN.
B.A. Physics, 1982

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, 1998-present, University of Wisconsin-Marinette, WI.
Taught General Physics I and II with lab at algebra and calculus levels, Astronomy with lab, and College Algebra. Currently teaching General Physics I with lab at calculus level, and Astronomy with lab. Astronomy during Fall 1999 was taught in conjunction with European History as a Learning Community. Plans are currently in progress for updating and renovating labs to become computer based labs. Responsibilities include all Physics Departmental responsibilities as the only Physics professor on campus. Additional responsibilities currently include Faculty Personnel Committee, and Information and Instructional Technology Committee, as well as Chair of Math and Science Division, and Science Club Advisor. Previous committee service on Facilities and Safety Committee and Academic Affairs Committee.

VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, 1997-1998, Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL
Taught Introductory Physics I and II with computer based labs, Calculus II, Physics III, Quantum Mechanics with atomic physics labs, and Statistical Mechanics, as well as Freshman Seminar (Monmouth's freshman level introduction to liberal arts, critical thinking and writing).

TEACHING ASSISTANT, 1989-1991, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Supervised introductory physics labs involving mechanics, thermodynamics, electronics, and optics experiments. Graded homework and lab reports. Proctored exams. Designed lab report formats to supplement lab manual. Volunteered exam review sessions. Evaluated student difficulties with course material. Assisted foreign language TAs.

1985-1987, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Supervised introductory physics labs involving mechanics, thermodynamics, electronics, and optics experiments. Graded homework and lab reports. Proctored exams. Led recitation sessions. Revised departmental lab manual.

1984-1985, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Supervised introductory physics labs involving mechanics, thermodynamics, electronics, and optics experiments. Graded homework and lab reports. Proctored exams.

1982-1984, Drake University, Des Moines, IA
Supervised introductory physics labs involving mechanics, thermodynamics, electronics, and optics. Graded homework and lab reports. Gave course lectures as substitute.

TUTOR, 1979-1982, Math Skills Center, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Was invited to join select group of students working at Math Skills Center as individual tutors. Worked with students on a walk-in basis with problems in trigonometry, algebra, calculus, and differential equations. Acted as senior supervisor on weekends during junior and senior year.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

RESEARCH ASSISTANT, 1993-1996, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Performed computational modeling of optical absorption of high density alkali metal vapors in a high temperature, one atmosphere pressure environment. Wrote new Fortran code and modified existing programs to produce spectral models to match experiment.

RESEARCH FELLOW, 1991-1993, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA and Phillips Laboratories, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
Performed experiments to determine optical absorption of alkali metal vapors and alkali metal hydrides in a high temperature, high pressure environment used to simulate rocket propulsion engines. The primary experimental device was the unique Plasma Spectroscopy Cell developed to attain temperatures of 3000 K and pressures up to 100 atmospheres. Operation of the cell required handling of optics, reactive alkali metals, thermocouples, gas and vacuum lines, water lines, and gas tanks. Spectroscopic experiments required setup of optics, spectrometer, CCD camera, and computer link-up. Spectroscopic data collection and analysis was performed with personal computer hardware and software.
Additional analysis was performed by computational modeling of spectra to identify known atomic and molecular transitions, and search for new alkali metal and alkali metal hydride species.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT, 1989-1990, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Searched for associations of bulk physical properties and cluster size under the supervision of Dr. William C. Stwalley. Examined experimental and theoretical data for extrapolation methods which could be used to predict physical properties of bulk material.

RESEARCHER, 1987-1988, Helios, Inc., Longmont, CO
Machined, constructed and tested annular HF laser for Helios, a small, privately owned company specializing in the manufacture of gas lasers. Annular HF laser was a modification of previous Helios model and was intended for experiments in medical research.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT, 1986, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Machined, constructed, and tested 10 kbar pressure cell for semiconductor experiments, under the supervision of Dr. James Sites. Learned machining techniques and cleanroom techniques.

RESEARCHER, 1983-1984, Drake University, Des Moines, IA
Developed and tested experimental computerized X-ray tomography system under the supervision of Dr. Harry Downing. Techniques were developed for systematically scanning objects with X-rays. Wrote computer program to calculate object density cross section from X-ray data.

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH SKILLS:
Advanced optics lab at University of Illinois at Chicago included detailed experiments involving prism and grating spectrometers, and Fabry-Perot and Michaelson interferometers.
Advanced laser lab at Colorado State University included tuning of optical gain medium to experiment with transverse and longitudinal modes of a laser, as well as measure gain and the beam intensity profile.

AWARDS

Runner-up, Teacher of the Year, Monmouth College, 1998.

Elected by student body of Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL. As one faculty put it: "That’s the first time in years someone in this [Science] building has won that award."

NASA Space Grant Graduate Fellowship, 1992-1993.

NASA Space Grant Graduate Fellowship, 1991-1992.

Competitive graduate fellowship peer-reviewed by Iowa Space Grant Consortium universities. Research was performed to analyze spectroscopic data relating to solar plasma propulsion

Council on Teaching, Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award 1991-1992, University of Iowa.
Selective university honor awarded to teaching assistants who have shown superior teaching skills and attention to their students. Nomination for the award is made by students of the TA or faculty. Nominations are reviewed by the Council on Teaching.

GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

University of Wisconsin Technological Improvement Grant, 2000.

One of a limited number of grants awarded to members of the 11 UW Colleges for adding technological teaching improvements to a course. The grant will be used to adapt Astronomy lectures to PowerPoint format.
University of Wisconsin Summer Research Grant, 1999.

One of a limited number of grants awarded to members of the 11 UW Colleges for pursuing research interests. The grant was used to perform final calculations of diatomic lithium absorption in further study of thesis topic.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research 1992 Summer Research Program Follow-up Grant: $20,000, 1993.
Competitive research grant limited to successful participants in the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Summer Research Program (see below). Very rarely awarded to student participants. Research was performed to analyze spectroscopic data relating to solar plasma propulsion.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research Summer Research Program, 1992.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research Summer Research Program, 1991.
Nationally competitive contract awarded by AFOSR to selected faculty and students whose research interests match those of Air Force research labs. Recipients are supported for up to ten weeks to travel to the chosen research lab for interaction with Air Force scientists and access to special facilities. Experiments were performed with the Phillips Laboratory Plasma Spectroscopy Cell.

PUBLICATIONS

P.S. Erdman, K.M. Sando, W.C. Stwalley, C.W. Larson, and M.E. Fajardo, "Optical Absorption of Lithium Metal Vapor at High Temperatures," J. Chem. Phys., to be submitted.

P.S. Erdman, "Optical Absorption of Alkali Metal Vapors at High Temperatures," Ph.D. thesis, University of Iowa, 1996.

P.S. Erdman, K.M. Sando, W.C. Stwalley, C.W. Larson, and M.E. Fajardo, "High Temperature, High Density Observation and Modeling of the Lithium 13_u+ - 13_g Transition," Chemical Physics Letters, 252 (1996) 248.

P.S. Erdman and W.C. Stwalley, "High Temperature Spectroscopy of Alkali Metal Vapors for Solar to Thermal Energy Conversion," Phillips Laboratory report PL-TR-94-3000, Edwards AFB, CA 1994.P.W. Langhoff, J.D. Mills, C.W. Larson, M.E. Fajardo, P.G. Carrick, P.S. Erdman, and W.C. Stwalley, "Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy of High Temperature Metal Vapors for Solar Thermal Propulsion," 1993 JANNAF Propulsion Meeting, Monterey, CA 1993.

P.S. Erdman, W.C. Stwalley, C.W. Larson, P.G. Carrick, and M. Cordonnier, "High Temperature Absorption Spectroscopy of Alkali Metal Vapors for Application to Solar Plasma Propulsion," Proceedings of the Second Iowa Space Conference, Cedar Falls, IA 1993.

C.W. Larson, M.E. Fajardo, J.D. Mills, P.W. Langhoff, P.S. Erdman, and W.C. Stwalley, "Visible Absorption Spectroscopy of Dense, High Temperature Lithium Vapor," 20th Informal Conference on Photochemistry, Atlanta, Georgia, 1992.

P.S. Erdman, W.C. Stwalley, C.W. Larson, and M.E. Fajardo, "Optical Absorption of Lithium at Extreme Temperatures and Pressures for Application to Solar Plasma Propulsion," Proceedings of the First Iowa Space Conference, Iowa City, IA, 1992.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Member, American Physical Society, 1989-present.
Member, American Association of Physics Teachers, 1997-present.