UC Prof Ribaudo Publishes in Prestigious Physics Journal

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UC Prof Ribaudo Publishes in Prestigious Physics Journal

Joseph Ribaudo, associate professor of physics at Utica College, published a piece in the July 2017 edition of Physics Today titled “Commentary: How killer black holes saved astronomy.”

In the Physics Today piece, Dr. Ribaudo discussed how he uses popular and historic science readings as a complement to traditional textbooks in many of the courses he teaches.

Physics Today, the flagship publication of the American Institute of Physics (AIP), informs readers about science and its place in the world with authoritative features, news stories, analysis, and fresh perspectives on technological advances and groundbreaking research.

Growing up, Ribaudo always had a passion for science, especially physics. When he finished high school, he attended Allegheny College where he majored in physics and mathematics while minoring in philosophy. He then went to graduate school at Notre Dame University, where he began to work with professors Chris Howk and Nicolas Lehner in astrophysics. In the fall of 2011, Ribaudo joined the Utica College faculty in the physics department.

Throughout his career, Ribaudo has authored and co-authored several publications including “Balloon and Button Spectroscopy: A Hands-On Approach to Light and Matter,” in The Physics Teacher, “The H I Content of the Universe Over the Past 10 Gyrs,” in The Astrophysical Journal, “The Bimodal Metallicity Distribution of the Cool Circumgalatic Medium at z < 1,” in The Astrophysical Journal, “Evidence for Cold Accretion: Primitive Gas Flowing onto Galaxy at z ~ 0.274,” in The Astrophysical Journal, “A Hubble Space Telescope Study of Lyman Limit Systems: Census and Evolution,” in The Astrophysical Journal, and “Strong z ~ 0.5 OVI absorption towards PKS 0405-123: implications for ionization and metallicity of the Cosmic Web,” in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

On campus, Ribaudo is heavily involved in the general physics curriculum as well as working on updating and expanding the astronomy offerings. He is also interested in developing the campus-community relationship to allow for children and young adults to experience science in a fun and interactive way. This summer, he worked with Young Scholars Liberty Partnerships Program high school students, teaching them more about physics and astronomy.

To read Ribaudo’s piece, visit http://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.3609