简介

Joe Collins earned his B.S. Physics, M.S. Physics, and Ph.D. Physics degrees at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has three main areas of interest - Biological Liquid Crystals, the philosophy of science, and science education at the pre-college level. He has been studying the lyotropic and thermotropic configurations of and the forces of interaction between liquid crystals of biological function since the late 1970's. These interactive forces determine the phase structure of, for example, biological membranes and partially determine the processes involved in exocytosis, endocytosis, cell-cell communication, mitosis, and cell viability. He is an experimentalist who uses x-ray diffraction, calorimetry, and polarizing light microscopy to assist in studying these Biological Liquid Crystals (lipids for example). He has over 21 refereed scientific publications, 10 invited talks, and nearly 50 presentations at both domestic and international scientific meetings. He is especially privileged to have had each of his Master's students as co-author on a published paper. Joe is eager and pleased to discuss the philosophical basis of science and the implications of scientific theories for the outlook of our universe. He has taught several seminars devoted to the philosophy of science and looks forward to involvement in more seminars. Joe Collins has been actively involved in Service Learning in his introductory physics courses. He is especially happy for all the excellent and enthusiastic work of service learners who have gone to over thirty Milwaukee area schools and groups and performed service learning. He also thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the play Faust: Eine Historie put on by 14 volunteers in his PHYS 1002 class of 1998.