Maoz, Dan 1960-

views updated

Maoz, Dan 1960-

PERSONAL:

Born November 4, 1960. Education: Tel-Aviv University, B.S., 1985, Ph.D., 1990.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Tel-Aviv, Israel. Office—School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Kaplun Bldg., Rm. 107, 69978 Tel-Aviv, Israel. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, educator. Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, 1990-93; Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel, School of Physics and Astronomy, 1993—.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Amiel Sternberg and Elia M. Leibowitz) Astronomical Time Series: Proceedings of the Florence and George Wise Observatory, 25th Anniversary Symposium, Held in Tel-Aviv, Israel, 30 December, 1996-1 January, 1997, Kluwer Academic Publishers (Boston, MA), 1997.

Astrophysics in a Nutshell, Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Dan Maoz is a writer and educator serving on the faculty at Tel-Aviv University in Israel, where he also earned both his undergraduate and doctoral degrees. Maoz is a professor in the department of physics and astronomy, and his primary areas of academic and research interest include active galactic nuclei, supermassive black holes, supernovae, and gravitational lensing. Prior to joining the faculty at Tel-Aviv University, Maoz also spent several years working at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, where he was a member of the faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study.

Beyond the scope of his academic and research duties, Maoz has served as editor, along with Amiel Sternberg and Elia M. Leibowitz, for Astronomical Time Series: Proceedings of the Florence and George Wise Observatory, 25th Anniversary Symposium, Held in Tel-Aviv, Israel, 30 December, 1996-1 January, 1997, which was published in 1997. He is also the author of Astrophysics in a Nutshell, which was published by the Princeton University Press in 2007 to warm critical reviews and intended for somewhat knowledgeable readers, such as students taking single-semester advanced science courses at the undergraduate level. The book serves as a general overview and introduction to the subject of astrophysics, including up-to-date information and theories in the field. It discusses stars, galaxies, cosmology, history of the study of astronomy, and the various principles of physics that apply to movement and structure across the universe. Maoz's work covers both general theory and specific mathematical equations that pertain to that theory on a more practical level, with each chapter ending with a series of practical problems for students to solve applying the information gleaned from that section. It also instructs on how to best analyze order of magnitude. Not only is the book designed for use as a class text, but it is also recommended as a review source for exams and as a reference source for researchers looking for a short yet reliable source of basic information. The Princeton University Press Web site, in their descrip- tion of the volume, include endorsements from professors of several major universities, including Greg Laughlin of the University of California at Santa Cruz, who remarked that the book is "a no-nonsense, fast-paced textbook that authoritatively covers the concepts underlying modern astronomy," and Adam Burrows of the University of Arizona, who dubbed the book a "panoramic volume."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, October, 2007, K.L. Schick, review of Astrophysics in a Nutshell, p. 305.

SciTech Book News, March, 1998, review of Astronomical Time Series: Proceedings of the Florence and George Wise Observatory, 25th Anniversary Symposium, Held in Tel-Aviv, Israel, 30 December, 1996-1 January, 1997, p. 32.