physics

Paul McEuen

Paul McEuen 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 Paul McEuen rather than just read about it. In short: Paul McEuen (born 1963) is an American physicist. He received his B.S. in engineering physics at the University of Oklahoma (1985), and his Ph.D. in applied physics at Yale University (1991).

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Paul McEuen (born 1963) is an American physicist. He received his B.S. in engineering physics at the University of Oklahoma (1985), and his Ph.D. in applied physics at Yale University (1991). After postdoctoral work at MIT (1990–1991), he became an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He moved to Cornell University in 2001, where he is currently the emeritus John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science. He is an expert on the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Research focus Paul McEuen studies the electrical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, scanning probe microscopy of nanostructures, molecular electronics, and applications of nanoelectronics in chemistry and biology. His group publishes their work frequently in Nature and Science, and McEuen has an h-index of 90.

Novel McEuen wrote a scientific thriller, Spiral (released in 2011), in which an emeritus Cornell biology professor is murdered as part of a plot involving a biological weapon, which received positive reviews by the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. The German translation became available on October 29, 2010. McEuen sold the movie rights for "Spiral" to Chockstone Pictures.

Positions John A. Newman (formerly Goldwin Smith) Professor of Physics, Cornell University, (2008–present) Professor, physics, Cornell University, (2001–present) Associate professor, Physics, University of California, Berkeley (1996-2000) Assistant professor, Physics, University of California, Berkeley (1992-1996) Postdoctoral researcher, MIT (1990-1991)

Awards and fellowships National Academy of Sciences (2011) American Physical Society Fellow (2003) Agilent Technologies Europhysics Prize (2001) Packard Foundation Interdisciplinary Fellow (1999) LBNL Outstanding Performance Award (1997) National Young Investigator (1993-1998) Packard Foundation Fellow (1992-1997) Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow (1992-1994) Office of Naval Research Young Investigator (1992-1995)

Other contributions McEuen has written Chapter 18, Nanostructures of Kittel's famous textbook Introduction to Solid State Physics (8ed). McEuen, along with others, helped uncover the Schön scandal.

References

External links McEuen Lab Homepage at Cornell University Paul McEuen's Department of Physics Faculty Home Page, Cornell University McEuen wins 2001 Agilent Technologies Europhysics Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Condensed Matter Physics

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul McEuen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul McEuen 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 Paul McEuen 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 Paul McEuen 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 Paul McEuen

In research: Paul McEuen 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 Paul McEuen 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: Paul McEuen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1963 births, 21st-century American physicists, American nanotechnologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul McEuen 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 Paul McEuen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paul McEuen 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 Paul McEuen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul McEuen in simple terms?

Paul McEuen (born 1963) is an American physicist. He received his B.S. in engineering physics at the University of Oklahoma (1985), and his Ph.D. in applied physics at Yale University (1991).

Why does Paul McEuen 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 Paul McEuen?

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 Paul McEuen.