Jumping Into The Science Of Sports
Dr. Chang Kee Jung, a State University of New York-Stony Brook professor, is one of the country’s leading astro-particle physicists. Jung’s research into subatomic particles called neutrinos could answer longstanding questions about the origins of the universe.
Born and raised in South Korea, he graduated from Seoul National University in 1979, then earned his doctorate in physics at Indiana University in 1986. Jung worked at Stanford University before moving to Stony Brook in 1990. There, he initiated a “Physics of Sports” course, a rarity in academia, but popular among students.
DI: Describe “Physics of Sports.”
CKJ: I want students to better appreciate sports, on top of learning some physics. I’ll explain for instance, how baseball pitches like a curveball or a split-finger fastball are different, based on how fast a ball is thrown, how fast the ball spins and the direction the ball spins.
