May 7, 2003::No.229

Cal State Fullerton Professor Selected for National Honor

Heidi Fearn, Cal State Fullerton professor of physics, has been named a Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics Scholar for 2003-2005. She is one of six scholars chosen from throughout the nation for a program supporting the research efforts of faculty members at U.S. colleges and universities that focus largely on teaching.

Fearn is the first Fullerton professor to receive this honor and the third in the CSU to be so recognized.

The program will allow the researcher — a member of the Fullerton faculty since 1991 — to explore her interest in quantum field and super-string theory, a unified theory of the fundamental interactions. As a Kavli Scholar, Fearn receives funding for three all-expenses-paid research visits, typically lasting for two weeks, to the Kavli Institute, during which time she may conduct research, attend lectures and take part in institute activities.

The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, established in 1979 and located at UC Santa Barbara, is funded by the National Science Foundation and the University of California. Its general purpose is to contribute to the progress of theoretical physics, especially in areas overlapping the traditional subfields of physics.

Fearn, a Placentia resident, holds a doctorate in quantum optics from the University of Essex. She teaches modern physics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, electrodynamics, atomic theory and mathematical physics. She is a member of the American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Association of Physics Teachers.