Expert Profile
Michael Dennin
Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning; Dean of Undergraduate Education; Professor of Physics
Prof. Dennin is leading the evolution of teaching and learning on the college campus, and he is a top communicator of all issues of physics.
Areas of Expertise
- Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Undergraduate Education
- Physics
- Biophysics
- Science of super heros
Biography
Professor Dennin earned his A. B. from Princeton University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He held a postdoctoral position at UCLA. He is an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow and a Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar.
Professor Dennin's main research interest is systems that exhibit emergent properties. These include the behavior of complex fluids, such as foam and sand, as well as the complex dynamics of biological systems.
Professor Dennin is well-known for popularizing science for the public. He has taught many online courses on the nature of science, including team teaching a MOOC based on the television program, The Walking Dead. He has appeared on a number of television programs, including Spider-man Tech, Batman Tech, Star Wars Tech, and Ancient Aliens.
Media
Media Appearances
Data-Based Decisions Tip: Removing Barriers to Completion With Policy RevisionData-Based Decisions Tip: Removing Barriers to Completion With Policy Revision
Inside Higher Ed, 7/12/2023
How the idea of ‘excellence’ can be misleading in higher education
Times Higher Education, 5/5/2023
THE Podcast: when pop culture meets academia
Times Higher Education, 5/11/2023
ChatGPT is Everywhere
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/6/2023
Science vs. Faith / UFO Investigations
Coast to Coast AM, 3/17/2022
Business Journal’s 2020 Innovators Keep Winning
Orange County Business Journal, 8/10/2021
How the pandemic changed higher education in California
EdSource, 3/17/2021
Do Spider-Man, Superman break the laws of physics?
OCRegister, 2/3/2020
Articles
Exact Solution of a Strongly Coupled Gauge Theory in 0 + 1 Dimensions
Physical Review Letters, 1/1/1970
Quantifying flow and stress in ice mélange, the world’s largest granular material
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1/1/1970
Bubble ribbons under imposed flow
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 1/1/1970
Understanding flow and stress in ice mélange: the world's largest granular material
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 1/1/1970
Stable small bubble clusters in two-dimensional foams
Soft Matter, 1/1/1970
Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD, Physics, 1995
Princeton University
AB, Physics, 1988
Accomplishments
- UCI Senate Distinguished mid-Career Award for Service
- UCI Award for Instructional Technology
- UCI Extension UCI Irvine Faculty Award
- UCI Academice Senate Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching
- UCI Teaching Excellence Award, School of Physical Sciences
Affiliations
- American Physics Society
- American Association of Teachers
- American Association for Advancement of Science