A native of Seattle, Professor Sullivan earned his A.B.-Honors degree (with Honors) in Physics from the University of Chicago in 1976. After a 5 year stint in industry, he returned to Seattle and obtained his PhD in experimental condensed matter physics from the University of Washington in 1986. Professor Sullivan added expertise in the area of nonlinear dynamics while doing post-doctoral research at UC-Santa Barbara and Los Alamos National Laboratory. He joined the faculty at Kenyon in 1991 and, together with his students, has done research in turbulent fluid dynamics, colloid physics, and computational pattern formation.

Tim received a Traditional Fulbright award in Sri Lanka for the 2008-2009 academic year. He worked in the Department of Physics at the University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka where he developed a computational physics course for the department. Check out Tim's weblog on his travels and visit to Sri Lanka.

Areas of Expertise

Computational Condensed Matter Physics

Education

Ph.D. University of Washington
A.B. - Honors in Physics, University of Chicago

Selected Publications

Tim's most recent research involves computer simulation of patterns that form during phase separation. He is also active in simulation and characterization of colloidal crystal structures. He learned about this fascinating field during a year's sabbatical at Bell Labs. He has visualized flow patterns in nonlinear fluid systems ranging from liquid helium mixtures to the convection produced near a dissolving salt crystal. Tim is also the local person to contact about our Beowulf cluster.

Courses Taught

PHYS 102: Good Nukes, Bad Nukes (Fall, '11)
PHYS 140: Classical Physics
PHYS 145: Modern Physics
PHYS 210: Intermediate Seminar in Physics
PHYS 218: Dynamical Systems in Scientific Computing
PHYS 245: Oscillations and Waves
PHYS 270: Computational Physics
PHYS 340: Classical Mechanics
PHYS 350: Electricity and Magnetism (Fall, '03)
PHYS 355: Optics
PHYS 360: Quantum Mechanics (Fall, '04)
PHYS 370: Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics (Spring, '04)
PHYS 375: Condensed Matter Physics
PHYS 380: Introduction to Electronics
PHYS 381: Projects in Electronics 1
PHYS 480: Research Methods for Experimental Physics
PHYS 481: Experimental Physics
IPHS 291: Atoms and the Void