Colin Pask (born 1943) is a British mathematical physicist and

science writer Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists and the public. Origins Modern science journalism originated in weather and other natural history obs ...

Life

He was born in Great Gonerby, on the outskirts of

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, where his father was a dairy farmer. He was educated at King's School, Grantham from age 11, and went to

Queen Mary College, London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

for a degree course in theoretical physics and mathematics. He graduated B.Sc. there in 1964.

Career

Pask studied for a Ph.D. in

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

under John M. Blatt at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

from 1964, graduating in 1967 with a dissertation entitled ''Studies in the Nuclear Three-Body Problem''. He spent a period at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, then returned to the University of New South Wales as lecturer in the Department of Applied Mathematics. In 1971 Pask moved to the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, with an

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

fellowship to work in the Department of Applied Mathematics there. He was made a Fellow in 1973, and Senior Fellow in 1978. He moved in 1986 to become head of University College at UNSW Canberra at ADFA, retiring from that post after 12 years. Pask is now Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Sciences and History at University of New South Wales.

Research interests

As a post-doctoral researcher, Pask turned to

optical physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO) is the study of matter–matter and light–matter interactions, at the scale of one or a few atoms and energy scales around several electron volts. The three areas are closely interrelated. AMO th ...

and

biological vision Visual perception is the ability to detect light and use it to form an image of the surrounding environment. Photodetection without image formation is classified as ''light sensing''. In most vertebrates, visual perception can be enabled by ph ...

, among other topics. In 1973 he published with

Allan Snyder Allan Whitenack Snyder (born 1942) is the director of the Centre for the Mind at the University of Sydney, Australia where he also holds the 150th Anniversary Chair of Science and the Mind. He is a co-founder of Emotiv Systems and winner of t ...

optical waveguide An optical waveguide is a physical structure that guides electromagnetic waves in the optical spectrum. Common types of optical waveguides include optical fiber waveguides, transparent dielectric waveguides made of plastic and glass, liquid ligh ...

explanation of the Stiles–Crawford effect. Pask and McIntyre reviewed the theory and experimental results in the area, in a survey from 2013. Work of Pask and Kevin Barrell from 1980 contributed to the theory of the apposition eye. During the 1970s, Pask also published on attenuation effects in

optical fibres An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

. He collaborated in this area with Adrian Ankiewicz.

Works

Pask has written some works of popularisation: * ''Math for the Frightened: Facing Scary Symbols and Everything Else That Freaks You Out About Mathematics'' (2011) * ''Magnificent Principia: Exploring Isaac Newton's Masterpiece'' (2013) * ''Great Calculations: A Surprising Look Behind 50 Scientific Inquiries'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pask, Colin 1943 births Living people 20th-century British physicists Mathematical physicists Alumni of Queen Mary University of London University of New South Wales alumni Academic staff of the University of New South Wales People from Grantham People educated at The King's School, Grantham