Earl Skelton

Earl F. Skelton

554 Reiss Science Building
Telephone: (202) 687-5980
E-mail: efs9@georgetown.edu

Dr. Skelton received his Ph.D. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1967 and has been a Visiting Professor in the GU Department of Physics since 2005; prior to that he was a Professor of Physics at The George Washington University. He has been teaching physics part-time at the university level since 1968. In 1999, he retired as Head of the Phase Transformation Section in the Condensed Matter and Radiation Science Division of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, ending a career of more than 35 years in condensed matter physics research. Dr. Skelton has authored or co-authored over 350 publications, more than 200 of which are published in refereed scientific journals. He is a member emeritus of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, and in 1980 was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2002, he received the Morton A. Bender Teaching Award from The George Washington University. In 1997, he was given the U.S. Navy’s Technology Transfer Award and in 1997, the Thomas Edison Chapter of Sigma Xi presented Dr. Skelton with their Pure Science Award. He also is a seven-time winner of the Alan Berman Research Publication Award from the Naval Research Laboratory.

Current Research

Professor Skelton’s current research interests are centered on the utilization of modern technology to enhance the teaching of physics. In 2006, he arranged for a LON-CAPA node in the Georgetown University Physics Department. LON-CAPA is used extensively in Georgetown University’s introductory physics courses, along with “rf clickers” and most recently, podcasting of all lectures.

Current Teaching

Modern Astronomy (Phys-015)
Introductory Physics I (Phys-041)

Selected Publications

  1. S. B. Qadri, T. M. Keller, M. Laskoski, E. F. Skelton, A. Husz, and N. A. Mahadik, Thermal Expansion of RuFe Alloys and its Relationship to the High Pressure Phase of Fe, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 171907 (2009).
  2. E. F. Skelton, P. L. Hagans, S. B. Qadri, D. D. Dominguez, A. C. Ehrlich, and J. Z. Hu, In situ Monitoring of Crystallographic Changes in Pd Induced by Diffusion of D, Phys. Rev. B 58, 14775 (1998).
  3. E. F. Skelton, A. R. Drews, M. S. Osofsky, S. B. Qadri, J. Z. Hu, T. A. Vanderah, J. L. Peng, and R. L. Greene, Direct Observation of Microscopic Inhomogeneities with Energy-Dispersive Diffraction of Synchrotron-Produced X-rays, Science 263, 1416 (1994).
  4. E. F. Skelton, A Record Breaking Superconductor, Missed, Physics Today 47(2), 120 (1994).
  5. E. F. Skelton and N. E. Moulton, Effects of Pressure on Thallium-Based Superconductors, Thallium-Based High-Temperature Superconductors, (New York, NY: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1993).
  6. E. F. Skelton and A. W. Webb, High Pressure Research, Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, (1986).
  7. E. F. Skelton, J. D. Ayers, S. B. Qadri, N. E. Moulton, K. P. Cooper, L. W. Finger, H. K. Mao, and Z. Hu, Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction from a Microscopic Single Crystal Under Pressure, Science 253, 1123 (1991).
  8. E. F. Skelton, “High Pressure Structural Data at 10,000-Times Faster Rates,” Naval Research Reviews, Vol. XXXVI, No. 3, 20-30 (1984).
  9. E. F. Skelton, High Pressure Research with Synchrotron Radiation, Physics Today 37(9), 44 (1984).
  10. E. F. Skelton, High Pressure Science and Technology in Japan, Scientific Monograph (ONRT M1), Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research, Tokyo, Japan (120 pp.), 1978