Jearl Walker (born 1945 in Pensacola, Florida) is a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

noted for his book '' The Flying Circus of Physics'', first published in 1975; the second edition was published in June 2006. He teaches physics at Cleveland State University. Walker has also revised and edited the textbook '' Fundamentals of Physics'' with David Halliday and

Robert Resnick Robert Resnick (January 11, 1923 – January 29, 2014) was a physics educator and author of physics textbooks. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 11, 1923"Robert Resnick." ''Marquis Who's Who''. Marquis Who's Who, 2008. Reproduced in ...

. Walker is a well-known popularizer of physics, and appeared on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

''. Walker is known for his physics demonstrations, which have included sticking his hand in molten lead, walking barefoot over hot coals, lying on a bed of nails, and pouring freezing-cold liquid nitrogen in his mouth to demonstrate various principles of physics. Such demonstrations are included in his

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series, ''Kinetic Karnival'', produced by

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in Cleveland, Ohio. Walker was born in Pensacola, Florida, and grew up in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

. He graduated with a degree in physics from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1967. He received his Ph.D. from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1973. Walker authored '' The Amateur Scientist'' column in ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...

'' magazine from 1978 to 1988. During the latter part of this period, he had been the Chairman of the Physics Department at Cleveland State University. He appeared regularly around this time on the long-running CBC radio science program '' Quirks and Quarks''. From 1981 to 1982 he hosted ''The Kinetic Karnival of Jearl Walker'', a six-episode series for

syndication in the US. In each 30-minute program he performed humorous demonstrations before a live audience. The show was distributed to schools as a teaching aide. He is the first recipient, in 2005, of the Outstanding Teaching Award from Cleveland State University's College of Science. The College's Faculty Affairs Committee selected Walker as the first honoree based on his contributions to science education over the last 30 years. The award was thereafter named "The Jearl Walker Outstanding Teaching Award" in his honor.

References

External links

Walker's blog

His faculty profile which shows his photographAnother photograph
(in the middle)
Prof. Walker's essay about his stunts. Boiling water and the leidenfrost effectWebsite of his latest book ''Flying Circus of Physics''Bed of Nails Demonstration
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Jearl 1945 births Living people 21st-century American physicists Cleveland State University faculty MIT Department of Physics alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni Science communicators