James Dann
3921 Orinda Dr.

San Mateo, CA 94403

E-mail: jdann@menloschool.org
(415) 994-7612

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Employment Objectives

To apply my research skills and experience as an educator and department chair to work as part of a team on projects in education, applied science and/or the business sector.

Educational Background

Bachelor of Science
University of California, Santa Barbara, 1992
Masters in Physics
University of California, Santa Cruz, 1994
PhD in Experimental Particle Physics
University of California, Santa Cruz, 1998

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Summary of Qualifications

Currently, I am a year teacher at Menlo School (please view my website) in the science department. I teach AP physics C (both mechanics and electromagnetism), Applied Science Research and physics1. Previously, I worked as an senior engineer at GMW where i was responsible for calibration, repair and application of magnetic and high current measurements using NMR probes, transducers and hall chips. I have also taught and served as department chair of science at St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco. My father and I wrote the People's Physics Book (the first online, open source physics book). I am a Research Fellow at UC Santa Cruz, where I work in the summer. In the previous three summers I have helped design, build and conduct a Tesla show, I worked on GLAST data and educational outreach and I designed and wrote a Balloon experiment lab manual for first year physics students which includes the use of portable data aquisition systems.

In my previous job I worked abroad for three and a half years in Geneva, Switzerland for the ALEPH experiment in the Santa Cruz Group at CERN (European Lab for Particle Physics) where I conducted research in particle physics and was responsible for the upgrade and commissioning of the radiation monitoring system of the ALEPH detector. This device is essential in protecting the silicon in a crucial element of the detector responsible for high precision tracking. In addition to my research and hardware responsibilities I also did the following smaller tasks:

· Data analysis at the frontier of particle physics. Used numerical programs (Monte Carlo), databases and large computer libraries to simulate background and signal processes.

· Piloted the use of voice software for physicists with repetitive strain injury at CERN.

· Responsible for the investigation, price evaluation and purchasing of the Santa Cruz PC's in Geneva, Switzerland.

Selected Publications

main author:

• The People's Physics Book, James H. Dann, James J. Dann (2004)
• Searches for Supersymmetry in the photon(s) plus missing energy channels at 161 GeV and 172 GeV, Physics Letters B420 (1998) 127.
• A study of single and multi-photon production in e+ e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130 and 136 GeV, Physics Letters B 384 (1996) 333-342.
  
  contributing author:

• Studies of Quantumn Chromodynamics with the ALEPH Detector, Physics Reports.
  ALEPH HANDBOOK VOL. 2, Beams and Radiation chapter, CERN 1997.
• Gamma-Ray Large-Area Space Telescope(GLAST) Balloon Flight Engineering Model: Overview, IEEE Transactions On Nuclear Science, Vol.49, No. 4, August 2001.
  

Awards

• Chandler Award for innovative teaching, 2007
• NAIS Nobel teaching award, 2007
• Radio Shack National Teacher Award, 2004
• Outstanding teacher award, UC San Diego, 2000.
• Plenary talk at the 1997 Rencontre de Moriond Conference, Les Arcs, France.
• Parallel talk at the 1996 United States Particles and Fields Conference, Minneapolis, USA.

Skills

Operating systems: Windows NT, UNIX
Application programs: Word, Latex, Powerpoint, Excel, Minitab
Programming language: Fortran
Multimedia applications: HTML, Dreamweaver
Physics skills: Basic knowledge in Silicon Detectors, Data Acquisition and Lab Tools (oscilloscopes, probe stations and lasers).

Language

French fluent. Can communicate effectively and without problems. Can read the newspaper and most books without a dictionary. Writing is a bit rusty from lack of serious use.
Spanish, Italian working knowledge.

Personal Interests

Traveling to meet different people and learn about their culture and history, team sports like basketball, group expeditions in the mountains.