physics

John Crocker (physicist)

John Crocker (physicist) is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Crocker (physicist) rather than just read about it. In short: John C. Crocker (born 1968 in Stoughton, Massachusetts) is an American physicist and chemical engineer.

Key takeaways

John Crocker (physicist) belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John Crocker (physicist) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John Crocker (physicist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

John C. Crocker (born 1968 in Stoughton, Massachusetts) is an American physicist and chemical engineer. He is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Crocker's research is focused in soft matter physics, nanotechnology and cell mechanics.

Education Crocker studied Physics at the University of Chicago, graduating with an AB in Physics in 1990. He continued his graduate studies at the University of Chicago and completed this program in 1996, receiving AM and PhD degrees in Physics, under the supervision of David G. Grier. This was followed by postdoctoral study with Arjun G. Yodh and David A. Weitz at the University of Pennsylvania.

Career In 2000, following his postdoctoral work, Crocker was appointed as Assistant Professor in Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology. In 2001, he moved to become Skirkanich Assistant Professor of Innovation in Chemical and Biomolecular engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Crocker was promoted to Associate Professor in 2007, and full Professor in 2014.

Research Crocker is known for his early work on particle tracking in two- and three-dimensions, and the measurement of small forces between colloidal micro particles using optical tweezers. His other significant work includes the development of two-point microrheology and its application to cell mechanics and force spectrum microscopy measurements, as well as the use of DNA hybridization to direct the formation of novel colloidal crystals. His later work involves the use of energy landscape methods to understanding soft glassy materials, such as foams and the actomyosin cytoskeleton.

Awards and honors 1995 - Grainger Graduate Fellowship for Experimental Physics 2002 - Fellow of the David & Lucile Packard Foundation 2005 - "Brilliant 10", Popular Science Magazine 2018 - Fellow of the American Physical Society

Selected articles Crocker JC, Grier DG, Methods of digital video microscopy for colloidal studies, J Colloid Interface Sci, 179 298–310, 1996. Weeks ER, Crocker JC, Levitt AC, Schofield A, Weitz DA, Three-dimensional direct imaging of structural relaxation near the colloidal glass transition, Science, 287 627–631, 2000. Crocker JC, Grier DG, Microscopic Measurement of the Pair Interaction Potential of Charge-Stabilized Colloid, Phys Rev Lett, 73 352–355, 1994. Crocker JC, Valentine MT, Weeks ER, Gisler T, Kaplan PD, Yodh AG, Weitz DA, Two-point microrheology of inhomogeneous soft materials, Phys Rev Lett, 85 888–891, 2000. Lau AWC, Hoffman BD, Davies A, Crocker JC, Lubensky TC, Microrheology, stress fluctuations, and active behavior of living cells, Phys Rev Lett, 91, 198101-(1-4), 2003.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Crocker (physicist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Crocker (physicist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Crocker (physicist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Crocker (physicist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Crocker (physicist)

In research: John Crocker (physicist) appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John Crocker (physicist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John Crocker (physicist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1968 births, American physicists, Fellows of the American Physical Society, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Crocker (physicist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John Crocker (physicist) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Crocker (physicist) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John Crocker (physicist) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Crocker (physicist) in simple terms?

John C. Crocker (born 1968 in Stoughton, Massachusetts) is an American physicist and chemical engineer.

Why does John Crocker (physicist) matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Crocker (physicist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Crocker (physicist).