Arthur Zajonc
Encyclopedia
Arthur Guy Zajonc (born 11 October 1949, Boston, Massachusetts) is a professor of physics
at Amherst College
in Massachusetts
. He is also a noted anthroposophist who served as the General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America. He held a number of dialogues with the Dalai Lama
about science, spirituality and cosmology.
in 1971. He received his Masters of Science in Physics in 1973 and his Philosophy Doctorate in Physics in 1976 at the University of Michigan as well.
Zajonc has taught at Amherst College since 1978. He was Assistant Professor of Physics 1978-1984, Associate Professor of Physics 1984-1991, and Professor of Physics 1991–present. 1976-1978 Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado
and the National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado. From 1981-82 he was a Visiting Associate Professor of Physics at the École Normale Supérieure
at the Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Hertzienne in Paris. In 1984 was a Visiting Research Physicist at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching (Munich
), Germany with H. Walther. 1986 he was a Visiting Scientist at the Institute for Quantum Optics at the University of Hanover in Germany. He was the Chairman for the Department of Physics at Amherst College for three different appointments: 1987-1989, 1998–2000, and 2005–present. In 1991 he was a Visiting Scientist at the Department of Physics at the University of Rochester
with L. Mandel. In 1993 he was a Fulbright Professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria teaching and doing research on the Experimental Foundations of Quantum Physics. Later that same year he was a Scholar-In-Residence at the Fetzer Institute
. He was the Senior Program Director of the Fetzer Institute 1995-1997. He is the director for the Academic Program of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society since 2004. This organization is composed of 1500 academics that support contemplative practices in higher education. In 2006 he became an Andrew W. Mellon Professor
at Amherst.
Zajonc held a number of dialogues with the Dalai Lama in 1997 which were later published in 2004 under his scientific coordination and editorship as Dalai Lama: The New Physics and Cosmology. He was moderator for the 2003 dialogue with the Dalai Lama at MIT.
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He is also a noted anthroposophist who served as the General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America. He held a number of dialogues with the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
about science, spirituality and cosmology.
Biography
He received his Bachelors of Science in Engineering from the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1971. He received his Masters of Science in Physics in 1973 and his Philosophy Doctorate in Physics in 1976 at the University of Michigan as well.
Zajonc has taught at Amherst College since 1978. He was Assistant Professor of Physics 1978-1984, Associate Professor of Physics 1984-1991, and Professor of Physics 1991–present. 1976-1978 Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
and the National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado. From 1981-82 he was a Visiting Associate Professor of Physics at the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
at the Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Hertzienne in Paris. In 1984 was a Visiting Research Physicist at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching (Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
), Germany with H. Walther. 1986 he was a Visiting Scientist at the Institute for Quantum Optics at the University of Hanover in Germany. He was the Chairman for the Department of Physics at Amherst College for three different appointments: 1987-1989, 1998–2000, and 2005–present. In 1991 he was a Visiting Scientist at the Department of Physics at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
with L. Mandel. In 1993 he was a Fulbright Professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria teaching and doing research on the Experimental Foundations of Quantum Physics. Later that same year he was a Scholar-In-Residence at the Fetzer Institute
Fetzer Institute
-The Institute:The Fetzer Institute is a mid size operating foundation based in Michigan, United States, founded by John E Fetzer.Since its founding, the Fetzer Institute has been interested in individual and community health and wholeness, from our early days of mind-body health research to its...
. He was the Senior Program Director of the Fetzer Institute 1995-1997. He is the director for the Academic Program of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society since 2004. This organization is composed of 1500 academics that support contemplative practices in higher education. In 2006 he became an Andrew W. Mellon Professor
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City and Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, endowed with wealth accumulated by the late Andrew W. Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969...
at Amherst.
Zajonc held a number of dialogues with the Dalai Lama in 1997 which were later published in 2004 under his scientific coordination and editorship as Dalai Lama: The New Physics and Cosmology. He was moderator for the 2003 dialogue with the Dalai Lama at MIT.
Other accomplishments
- Co-founder of the Kira Institute
- Past president of the Lindisfarne AssociationLindisfarne AssociationThe Lindisfarne Association is a group of intellectuals of diverse interests organized by cultural historian William Irwin Thompson for the "study and realization of a new planetary culture"...
. - Co-founder of the Fetzer Institute
Publications
- Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind (1993,1995)
- The Quantum Challenge (2nd ed. 2005)
- Goethe's Way of Science (1998)
- Dalai Lama: The New Physics and Cosmology (2004)
- Meditation As Contemplative Inquiry: When Knowing Becomes Love (2008)