Bertulani, Carlos A. (C.A. Bertulani)

PERSONAL:

Married; wife's name Eliete; children: two sons. Education: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, B.S., 1980, M.Sc., 1983; University of Bonn, Ph.D. (summa cum laude), 1987.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Physics, Texas A&M University—Commerce, P.O. Box 3011, Commerce, TX 75429-3011. E-mail—Carlos_Bertulani@tamu-commerce.edu.

CAREER:

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, assistant professor, 1980-83, professor, 1988-2000, chair of the Physics Graduate Program, 1997-99; University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, research professor, 2006-07; Texas A&M University, Commerce, associate professor of physics, 2007—. Has held visiting faculty positions at Michigan State University, East Lansing, 1991-92, 2002-04; University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1993; GSI/Darmstadt, Germany, 1994; Brookhaven National Laboratory, 2000-01; and University of Arizona, Tucson, 2004-06.

AWARDS, HONORS:

CAPES/Brazil fellow, 1980-83; DAAD/Germany fellow, 1983-87; CNPq/Brazil Research Award, 1988-99; PRONEX/Brazil Research Award, 1996-2000; John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellow, 2000-01. Recipient of numerous research grants and awards.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with L. Felipe Canto and Mahir S. Hussein) Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Physics of Unstable Nuclear Beams: Topics on the Structure and Interactions of Nuclei far from the Stability Line; 28-31 August 1996, Serra Negra, São Paulo, Brazil, World Scientific (River Edge, NJ), 1997.

(Editor, with others) Nuclear Physics: Proceedings of the VIII Jorge André Swieca Summer School, Campos do Jordãdo, Brazil, January 26-February 7, 1997, World Scientific (River Edge, NJ), 1997.

(Editor, with L.F. Canto and M.S. Hussein) International Workshop on Collective Excitations in Fermi and Bose Systems, Serra Negra, Brazil, World Scientific (Singapore, Malay), 1998.

(As C.A. Bertulani, with M.S. Hussein, and G. Munzenberg) Physics of Radioactive Beams (textbook), Nova Science Publishers (Huntington, NY), 2001.

(With Helio Schechter) Introduction to Nuclear Physics (textbook), Nova Science Publishers (Hauppauge, NY), 2002.

(With Pawel Danielewicz) Introduction to Nuclear Reactions (textbook), Institute of Physics (Philadelphia, PA), 2004.

Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell (textbook), Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 2007.

Author of more than 150 scientific publications in refereed international journals, and more than thirty publications in conference proceedings; referee for scientific journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Carlos A. Bertulani is a physicist and educator whose research interests focus on theoretical nuclear and many-body physics, nuclear astrophysics, and computational physics. "His research work on rare isotopes plays a role in advancing nuclear science in medicine, as well as biological and chemical research," noted a contributor to Texas A&M University's University News.

Bertulani, who is a recipient of a prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, is the author of several books, including textbooks. Physics of Radioactive Beams, written with M.S. Hussein and G. Munzenberg, is an introductory text that primarily focuses on light nuclei, neutron nuclei, and proton-rich nuclei. It discusses theories of the atomic nucleus and describes various experiments within the context of new theoretical developments. Topics discussed include secondary beams of rare isotopes, sizes and energies of exotic nuclei, Borromean nuclei, elastic and inelastic scattering, pion production, nuclear astrophysics, and the formation of heavy and superheavy elements.

Bertulani and Helio Schechter are the authors of Introduction to Nuclear Physics, a textbook that provides an introduction to the basics of nuclear physics and is aimed for students with a minimal understanding of the mathematical and quantum theory issues involved in the field. The authors provide numerous examples to help students understand specific theories. Bertulani and Schecteer begin with a discussion of nucleons and ions and then explore the nucleon system and general properties of nuclei. Among other topics, they discuss radioactivity; alpha, beta, and gamma decay; and nuclear reactions, nuclear fission, and nuclear astrophysics.

Introduction to Nuclear Reactions, written with Pawel Danielewicz, focuses on nonrelativistic nuclear reactions. The authors include an overview of nuclear reactions and begin with a look at scattering theory, which they explain in a manner appropriate for the beginning student. They also explore how this theory can be applied to different kinds of nuclear reactions. In the book's main section, Bertulani and Danielewicz examine the various physics models that physicists have developed to explain the phenomena of nuclear reactions. They end with a look at various applications of the eikonal wave function to nuclear reactions. The book is intended both for students with a strong foundation in physics and for those who have only a general knowledge of the science and technology involved in the field.

In his book Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell, the author examines the atomic nucleus and also explores the various theories concerning the nucleus. The textbook is designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students and focuses on providing a core appreciation for both particle and nuclear science. The author explains hadrons, nuclei, and stars in a systematic fashion as he provides the essential knowledge needed for understanding nuclear physics.

Bertulani begins Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell with an overview of nuclear physics and then places the discipline within the realm of elementary particle physics. He delves into the ideal of simple models and their ability to shed light on the nuclei's specific properties and goes on to discuss nuclear constituents and interactions and nuclear structure. Bertulani also explores many recent developments in nuclear physics, including the role that nuclear physics plays in energy production, as well as the nucleosynthesis in stars. The author employs numerous examples that feature various applications in each chapter, and chapters end with a list of problems for students to solve.

Bertulani told CA: "I first became interested in writing in order to see my handwritten notes organized in a good-looking printed format. And also to present the text in a more pedagogical way than other existing manuscripts.

"My work is influenced by my wish to contribute to research and teaching as much as I can.

"My writing process involves first writing notes for students. Then I look for more understanding of the field and expand the text with that. Then I try to fill in with the newest advances in the field.

"As a writer, I am astonished that so many good old books go out of print.

"My favorite of my books is Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell because the editors of Princeton Press are very supportive, dedicated, and professional, in a way I've not seen before.

"I hope my books will have the kind of effect that they have already accomplished: to help a few beginners to acquire the basic knowledge in their fields."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice, March, 2003, R.L. Stearns, review of Introduction to Nuclear Physics, p. 1218; October 1, 2007, R.L. Stearns, review of Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell, p. 320.

SciTech Book News, December, 2002, review of Introduction to Nuclear Physics, p. 50.

ONLINE

Carlos A. Bertulani Home Page,http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/cbertulani (July 14, 2008).

Nova Publishers Web site,https://www.novapublishers.com/ (July 14, 2008), overviews of Physics of Radioactive Beams and Introduction to Nuclear Physics.

Princeton University Press Web site,http://press.princeton.edu/ (July 14, 2008), overview of Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell and brief profile of author.

University News (Texas A&M University—Commerce), http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/ (September 26, 2007), "A&M-C Astrophysics Obtains Research Grant."