Professional Biography: Nicholas Tufillaro

Other past and current research has covered a broad area of industrial, applied, experimental, and theoretical physics. A main theme in my work is the analysis and modeling of nonlinear behavior with a strong inclination toward the methods of computational science (Nonlinear Dynamics Resource Letter I, AJP, September 1997). During much of the last ten years I have worked as an industrial research and development scientist doing modeling of new RF, microwave, and optical devices and measurement instrumentation, as well as laying the foundations for a general test and measurement methodology for the characterization and design of systems exhibiting nonlinear behavior (IEEE Trans. Circuits and Systems I 48 (9), 2001, IEEE Trans. on Microwave Theory and Techniques 52 (9),  2004). Most of the engineering applications of this work are geared toward the high-speed wireless and optical communications industries. Prior to my work in industy, I did  experimental work on spatial temporal chaos in surface waves (PRL 62 (4), 422 (1989)), theoretical work in the topological characterization of low dimensional chaos (PRL 64 (20), 2350 (1990), PRE 51 (1), 164-174 (1995).), and also developed the first industrial photoluminescence system used in the large scale production of semi-conductor lasers. This work, done early in my career while I was at  Bell Labs, helped in a small part to enable TAT-8, the first transatlantic fiber optic cable. I have also worked as a consultant for Dow Chemical, the Ford Motor Company, and the Hewlett-Packard Company, on issues of nonlinear system identification, modeling, and analysis. Lastly, I try to do my part for free software. I am one of the the two principal developers of the GNU plotutils package.

I am qualified to lecture in undergraduate and graduate physics, and  many courses in undergraduate mathematics, electrical engineering and a few topics in computer science and software  engineering. Some standard courses I particularly like to teach are undergraduate quantum mechanics, undergraduate and graduate classical mechanics, ordinary differential equations, introductory and advanced mathematical methods for physicists and engineers, computational physics, and supervised undergraduate and graduate research.  Specialty courses I have already developed or would like to develop include Nonlinear Dynamics, Computational Physics, Inverse Problems in Applied Physics, and a course on the modulation techniques and devices used in modern (spread spectrum and optical) communications systems. I have had great experiences involving undergraduates in research including directing about eight undergraduate research projects (Tina Mello, Ivan Lalovic) and  several summer interns (Pete Wyckoff), almost all leading to publications mostly in the American Journal of Physics. In addition I've advised Ph.D students (Tim Molteno, while at the University of Otago), and three postdoctoral scientists (David Walker, Paul Gross and Brian Spears).

 

Media Presentations of Interest:
John Selker Video from OPB Oregon Field Guide on Fiber Optic Temperature Sensing (2009) (.mp4) video2 (.mp4) video3 (.mp4)
Gordon Grant Audio from NPR Radio Expeditions (2005) (.mp3)

OSU LINKS: