Raymond E. Hall (born July 19, 1964, in Los Angeles) is an American physicist serving as a Professor of Physics at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State). Hall's research career has included both experimental physics and science education.
[
His career in high-energy ]particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
spanned over two decades, primarily at Fermi National Laboratory near Chicago.[ As a key member of the DZero Collaboration there from 1989 to 2010,][ he made significant contributions to fundamental physics, most notably participating in the groundbreaking discovery of the ]Top Quark
The top quark, sometimes also referred to as the truth quark, (symbol: t) is the most massive of all observed elementary particles. It derives its mass from its coupling to the Higgs field. This coupling is very close to unity; in the Standard ...
in 1996.[
Hall is the creator of the ''physicsfun'' Instagram page and the associated YouTube channel.][ As of 2025 he has a collection of over 1,700 science toys.][
]
Academic career
Ray Hall received his B.S. (honors) in Physics with minors in Mathematics and Chemistry from California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
in 1988. He continued his education at the University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...
, where he earned his M.S. in Physics in 1990. He got his PhD there in 1994 with the thesis, ''Search for the Top Quark in Dimuon Events at DØ''[ under Stephen J. Wimpenny.][ From 1996-1999 he did post-doctoral work at UC Irvine under advisor Andrew J. Lankford.
In 1999 he was hired on the tenure track in the Department of Physics, at California State University, Fresno, and was granted the title of full professor in 2010.][
]
Critical thinking and skepticism
Hall has dedicated a significant portion of his career to promoting critical thinking and scientific skepticism. This interest began when he was an astronomy teaching assistant, and found it necessary to explain to his students the difference between astronomy and astrology.[ This, in turn, led him to subscribe to ]Skeptical Inquirer
''Skeptical Inquirer'' (S.I.) is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle "The Magazine for Science and Reason". The magazine initially focused on investigating clai ...
in 1984, marking the beginning of his long-standing engagement with skepticism.
He was elected a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to " ...
in 2022.[ In this capacity he conducts workshops and gives lectures to promote critical thinking and share his passion for science and curiosity.][ He has been a conference organizer for annual meetings of rational skeptics including CSICon (2019-2024) and ]The Amazing Meeting
The Amazing Meeting (TAM), stylized as The Amaz!ng Meeting, was an annual conference that focused on science, scientific skepticism, skepticism, and critical thinking; it was held for twelve years. The conference started in 2003 and was sponsored ...
(2005-2015) in Las Vegas.[
Hall's commitment to scientific rationalism is evident in his favorite course to teach, "Science and Nonsense," which focuses on critical thinking and the methods of science.][
]
Education
In science education Hall focuses on understanding best practices for teaching critical thinking and scientific methodologies, as well as assessing student learning outcomes in these areas.[
In 2018 (with co-author Kathleen D. Dyer) he published ]
Effect of Critical Thinking Education on Epistemically Unwarranted Beliefs in College Students
'
He and his wife, Kathleen Dyer were awarded the 2022 JREF award[ for their "record of encouraging scientific curiosity and critical thought about the natural world, and conducting research into educational strategies for effectively addressing pseudoscientific beliefs.][
]
Publications
* 2019:
Effect of Critical Thinking Education on Epistemically Unwarranted Beliefs in College Students
' (with Kathleen Dyer), Research in Higher Education, vol 60, pp 293–314
* 2011: ''The D0 Silicon Microstrip Tracker'', The DØ Collaboration (S.N. Ahmed et al.) Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A634:8-46
* 2009: ''Observation of Single Top Quark Production'', The DØ Collaboration (V.M. Abazov et al.). Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 092001
* 2006: ''The Upgraded D0 detector'', The DØ Collaboration (V.M. Abazov et al.) Nucl.Instrum. Meth. A565, 463-537
* 2004: DØ Collaboration.
A precision measurement of the mass of the top quark
', Nature
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
429, 638–642
* 1995: ''Observation of the top quark'', The DØ Collaboration (S. Abachi et al.). Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2632-2637
Notes
References
External links
Website at Fresno State
physicsfun on YouTube
physicsfun on Instagram
Critical Thinking with Drs. Kathleen Dyer and Ray Hall
(video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Raymond E.
American particle physicists
American skeptics
California State University, Fresno alumni
University of California, Riverside alumni
University of California, Irvine alumni
California State University, Fresno faculty
1964 births
Living people