2008 Woodie Awards
Todd Duncan publishes book
Popular prof publishes paperback
Geoffrey Pursinger
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: News
With giant intergalactic space penguins, crossword puzzles at the end of chapters and a slew of easy to understand information, it's clear that physics professor Todd Duncan's first book "Your Cosmic Context" isn't quite what many were expecting.
"It's kind of a textbook but with a pop bend to it," Duncan said. Duncan, who is most known for his popular Cosmology class, for which the book was written. The book has currently serves asthe textbook for the class.
The pages of the book on cites places on the internet for students to read, often including hand drawn examples of galactic phenomenon.
Duncan co-wrote the book with fellow cosmology instructor Craig Tyler of Fort Lewis, Colo. The two had both attended the graduate program at the University of Chicago and wanted to write a text that would incorporate the necessary knowledge and still make it easy for students to read and relate to, as well as provide a one-stop shp for professors.
"When you're a teacher you have to piece a lot together," Duncan said. "[You use] different textbooks for different subjects as well as your own notes. We wanted to include all the science, but blend it with a pop style that would make it easy to understand."
His first book, Duncan "soon learned that tackling a textbook was a totally different beast [than writing anything else."
Instead of just writing the text, as he would a novel or other book, Duncan did research and met with other professors who helped explain why certain teaching methods and explanations did or didn't work, allowing for a more thorough and understandable text.
From start to finish the book took nearly four years to complete.
"Imagine the most difficult term paper you've ever written, and then writing it nonstop for four years."
But Duncan admits that it wasn't all bad. "It was fun working with [Tyler] because you get to argue and discuss. 'Is this the best way to approach this material?' It was a long, fun process."
In the works for Duncan is another book, a more mainstream volume tentatively titled "Looking for meaning in the modern universe," which will be about how ideas of consciousness fit into the vastness of the universe.
Duncan described the future project as a "personal philosophy on life."
The book will focus on some of the material discussed in his Feb. 28 talk from the Burlingham Lecture Series, he said.
For now Duncan plans on "recovery" after his nearly half-decade journey.
"Your Cosmic Context" is available in the Library and was released Jan. 4 from Addison-Wesley Professional publishing company of Indianapolis, Ind.
Duncan doesn't know how many copies the book has sold yet, but he expects to receive his first sales numbers sometime in September.
"It's kind of a textbook but with a pop bend to it," Duncan said. Duncan, who is most known for his popular Cosmology class, for which the book was written. The book has currently serves asthe textbook for the class.
The pages of the book on cites places on the internet for students to read, often including hand drawn examples of galactic phenomenon.
Duncan co-wrote the book with fellow cosmology instructor Craig Tyler of Fort Lewis, Colo. The two had both attended the graduate program at the University of Chicago and wanted to write a text that would incorporate the necessary knowledge and still make it easy for students to read and relate to, as well as provide a one-stop shp for professors.
"When you're a teacher you have to piece a lot together," Duncan said. "[You use] different textbooks for different subjects as well as your own notes. We wanted to include all the science, but blend it with a pop style that would make it easy to understand."
His first book, Duncan "soon learned that tackling a textbook was a totally different beast [than writing anything else."
Instead of just writing the text, as he would a novel or other book, Duncan did research and met with other professors who helped explain why certain teaching methods and explanations did or didn't work, allowing for a more thorough and understandable text.
From start to finish the book took nearly four years to complete.
"Imagine the most difficult term paper you've ever written, and then writing it nonstop for four years."
But Duncan admits that it wasn't all bad. "It was fun working with [Tyler] because you get to argue and discuss. 'Is this the best way to approach this material?' It was a long, fun process."
In the works for Duncan is another book, a more mainstream volume tentatively titled "Looking for meaning in the modern universe," which will be about how ideas of consciousness fit into the vastness of the universe.
Duncan described the future project as a "personal philosophy on life."
The book will focus on some of the material discussed in his Feb. 28 talk from the Burlingham Lecture Series, he said.
For now Duncan plans on "recovery" after his nearly half-decade journey.
"Your Cosmic Context" is available in the Library and was released Jan. 4 from Addison-Wesley Professional publishing company of Indianapolis, Ind.
Duncan doesn't know how many copies the book has sold yet, but he expects to receive his first sales numbers sometime in September.
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