Andrei Ruckenstein

Past President
Aspen Center for Physics

• B.S. Harvard College, 1978
• Ph.D. Physics, Cornell Univeristy, 1984
• Professor of Physics, Rutgers University 1992 –
• Director, BioMaPS Program in Quantitative Biology, Rutgers University, 2001-2002
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1988 – 1993
• Senior Humboldt Prize, 1994
• President, Aspen Center for Physics 2004 – 2007
• Associate Provost and Vice President for Research, and Professor of Physics, Boston Univ

Growing up as the son of an absent-minded scientist, during much of his youth Andrei dreamt of becoming an orchestra conductor and studied the piano, harmony and composition. While his passion for music only became stronger over time, “the apple does not fall too far from the tree” and he was eventually diverted into a career in Science. Andrei is the current President of the Aspen Center for Physics. He holds a B.S. from Harvard College 1978 and a PhD in Physics from Cornell 1984. He was the founding Director of BioMaPS, a Rutgers University program focused on research and education in the area of interdisciplinary biology (2000-2001); and has served as the co-Director of the BioMaPS Institute and the founding Director of the BioMaPS Graduate Program (2001-2004) while a Professor of Physics at Rutgers University. He is trained as a theoretical condensed matter physicist and is well known for his work in strongly correlated quantum systems. Since 2000 he has redirected his interests towards biology-driven research. He was recognized by an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award and a Humboldt Foundation Senior Prize. Currently, he is Professor of Physics and Associate Provost and Vice President for Research at Boston University.

George Stranahan

Co-Founder
Aspen Center for Physics

• B.S in Physics, California Institute of Technology, 1953
• M.S., Ph.D in Physics, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1961
• Postdoctoral fellowship, Purdue University, 1962 -1965
• Associate Professor, Michigan State University, 1965- 1972

At age 12 George knew that science would be his career choice, and his subsequent grades in assorted schools demonstrate his disinterest in any other subject. Except for a two year stint in the army late in the Korean War his career was a standard academic progression of BS, Ms, PhD, Research Associate, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and out. He worked in theory on meson physics, plasma physics and some very non-linear mathematics of phase transitions. He was improbably in the right place at the right time to become one of the founders of the Aspen Center of Physics, unquestionably a much more significant contribution to physics than his research papers.

The out happened at age 40, apparently a fairly standard form of mid-life crisis. He moved to Woody Creek from his big ten appointment and began simultaneous careers in elementary education, and farming. His work in education resulted in the Compass organization, which includes the Aspen Community School and the Carbondale Community School. The farming, which included cattle, can best be described as an eighteen-year failure culminating in presenting the Grand Champion bull at the 1990 Denver Livestock show.

Science is an incurable infection of the brain and the opportunity to promote Good Sciences as an invaluable human expression has created one last career, the Aspen Science Center.

Kevin P Ward

Executive Director
Aspen Science Center

• B.A. Harvard College 1975
• J.D. University of California 1981
• Teaching Fellow, Harvard University 1999-2002

From an early age, Kevin has been fascinated by how people learn and what constitutes a powerful learning experience. While attending Harvard College as an undergrad he developed a lifelong love of the sciences (in particular, marine biology) and upon graduation, (after 5 years practicing law in Ca and NY) began a career of developing technology, interactivity and multimedia to create active, immersive learning environments.

Over the next twenty years, Kevin served as Creative Director on such projects as the Macintosh launches for Apple, the Olympic CEO programs (Atlanta and Nagano)for IBM, the Apple Pavillion at EPCOT Center, the CEO Innovation Initiative for Johnson&Johnson, the Animal Planet Hyper-CD Rom for Discovery Channel, interactive multimedia experiences for the American Museum of Natural History and others. A committed environmentalist, Kevin created the logo, branding, and activist web Network for RFK Jr's Waterkeeper Alliance.

From 1999 to 2003, he returned to Harvard as a Teaching Fellow, and was honored to receive the Derek Bok Distinguished Teaching Award for each of those years.

As the Executive Director of the newly-formed Aspen Science Center, Kevin is committed to advancing excellence in science outreach and education, returning science, critical thinking and innovation to their essential roles in the lives of students, families and communities.