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David P. Stern

David P. Stern



Retired September 2001     (continuing as emeritus)
    Lab for Particles and Fields,
    Code 672, Goddard Space Flight Center
    Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
Home: 31 Lakeside Drive, Greenbelt, MD 20770
tel 301-474-4527
stargaze(symbol"at")phy6.org    
    (no twitter, no facebook, just plain e-mail!)

Born in Czechoslovakia, grew up in Israel; studied physics at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa, with doctoral thesis on an underground experiment on cosmic rays. In 1959 joined Fred Singer's space group at the University of Maryland, then in 1961 came to Goddard Space Flight Center.

Main interests are mapping and physics of the global magnetosphere, also science education and history of science (headed AGU Committee on the History of Geophysics 1981-88, Eos history editor 1999-2001). Likes to write, keeps extensive notes, also travelogues of trips in the US and abroad. More detailed curriculum vitae as a web file here, or as a PDF file, here.

Some recent work:

Educational web sites

  • "The Exploration of the Earth's Magnetosphere" (1995)
  • "From Stargazers to Starships" (1998)
  • "The Great Magnet, the Earth" (2000)
  • All Things Electric and Magnetic" (2010)

    (All links are to home pages. Spanish and French translations exist for most files, "The Great Magnet" has a German and a Japanese version, "Stargazers" has been translated into Italian, and other translations have been started.)
        Miscellaneous cultural, personal and science-education files at Welcome to my World.

    A central linking page "Science Overviews" is at http://www.phy6.org/readfirst.htm.

    Some Fairly Recent Work

    Less recent:

    • "Math Squared", a math-enrichment book for middle school students, published 1980 by Teachers' College Press of Columbia University.

    More dubious:


  • Last updated 29 April 2005