Instructor Profile: Brand Fortner
May 2020
Have you ever wondered where you stand in the universe? Are you interested in learning more about astronomy to help better understand the nature of the universe? If so, consider taking Brand Fortner’s Zoom class: “Are We Alone in the Universe?” during the OLLI Spring Zoom Term.*
Brand knew as a child that he wanted to be an astronomer. After high school in Illinois, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, where he ultimately earned his Ph.D. in Theoretical High Energy Astrophysics. Always interested in practical work versus traditional study (he was a “poor” student), Brand has had a “wildly non-traditional career” throughout his college years to the present day.
Brand has worked as a photographer, computer programmer, author, entrepreneur, and researcher in applied astrophysics in organizations that include NASA, NCSA (National Center for Super Computing Applications), and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He started (and later sold) two highly successful computer software companies. His research endeavors include supercomputing, exploring the universe, and other applied astrophysics areas. Brand is an expert in accessible visualization and in technical data formats.
Don’t let all this scientific jargon scare you! Brand’s lifelong mission has been to “make the complex simple”—whether for other scientists, undergraduates at NCSU, or OLLI students. This passion is demonstrated in his two published books: The Data Handbook: A Guide to Understanding the Organization and Visualization of Technical Data and Number By Colors: A Guide to Using Color to Understand Technical Data. These books are used and referenced in scholarly articles to this day.
In 2006, Brand returned to academia and moved to North Carolina. He is a teaching professor in Physics at NCSU and adjunct professor of physics at UNC-CH, as well as a long-term OLLI instructor. His many other interests include aviation (he is a member of a flying club in Burlington, NC) and cinema (he was a founding sponsor of Ebertfest [ebertfest.com], a film festival held annually in April in Champaign, IL). In addition, Brand is researching his Cherokee heritage and has discovered (among other things) a book written about one of his great-grandfathers.
Knowing many needs are being unmet amid the Covid-19 epidemic, Brand has joined others in his cohousing community in Durham to create and ship face shields for health care professionals in need. The neighborhood team designed, tested, and redesigned a face shield that the entire community contributes to assembling. They make about 100 shields a day and have shipped to local, national, and international dentists and other healthcare professionals. Learn more about it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgk0ci62IMk&feature=youtu.be.
Brand finds teaching at OLLI at Duke very satisfying. Unlike many undergraduate students, OLLI lifelong learners are easy to engage, and they bring a lot to each class they attend. In his OLLI classes, his students range from beginning scientific learners to people who have taught and worked in highly scientific fields. Brand learns from his students and continually modifies his classes based on the questions and ideas OLLI members pose in class.
Brand has taught a 1-hour class using Zoom for OLLI, and he finished the Spring 2020 term at NCSU using Zoom. Brand has been working to overcome some of the challenges that Zoom presents (vs. in-person classes), especially finding new ways to keep the class interactive. A big advantage that Brand finds with Zoom is the ability to simultaneously teach students from across the country—or the world (and perhaps, in the future, across the universe).
*Registration opens at 9:00 am on May 11, 2020, for the Spring Zoom term May 19-June 25, 2020. Brand’s course “Are We Alone in the Universe?” will be held on Tuesdays at 10:00 am. The course number is 3126.
May 2020
Have you ever wondered where you stand in the universe? Are you interested in learning more about astronomy to help better understand the nature of the universe? If so, consider taking Brand Fortner’s Zoom class: “Are We Alone in the Universe?” during the OLLI Spring Zoom Term.*
Brand knew as a child that he wanted to be an astronomer. After high school in Illinois, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, where he ultimately earned his Ph.D. in Theoretical High Energy Astrophysics. Always interested in practical work versus traditional study (he was a “poor” student), Brand has had a “wildly non-traditional career” throughout his college years to the present day.
Brand has worked as a photographer, computer programmer, author, entrepreneur, and researcher in applied astrophysics in organizations that include NASA, NCSA (National Center for Super Computing Applications), and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He started (and later sold) two highly successful computer software companies. His research endeavors include supercomputing, exploring the universe, and other applied astrophysics areas. Brand is an expert in accessible visualization and in technical data formats.
Don’t let all this scientific jargon scare you! Brand’s lifelong mission has been to “make the complex simple”—whether for other scientists, undergraduates at NCSU, or OLLI students. This passion is demonstrated in his two published books: The Data Handbook: A Guide to Understanding the Organization and Visualization of Technical Data and Number By Colors: A Guide to Using Color to Understand Technical Data. These books are used and referenced in scholarly articles to this day.
In 2006, Brand returned to academia and moved to North Carolina. He is a teaching professor in Physics at NCSU and adjunct professor of physics at UNC-CH, as well as a long-term OLLI instructor. His many other interests include aviation (he is a member of a flying club in Burlington, NC) and cinema (he was a founding sponsor of Ebertfest [ebertfest.com], a film festival held annually in April in Champaign, IL). In addition, Brand is researching his Cherokee heritage and has discovered (among other things) a book written about one of his great-grandfathers.
Knowing many needs are being unmet amid the Covid-19 epidemic, Brand has joined others in his cohousing community in Durham to create and ship face shields for health care professionals in need. The neighborhood team designed, tested, and redesigned a face shield that the entire community contributes to assembling. They make about 100 shields a day and have shipped to local, national, and international dentists and other healthcare professionals. Learn more about it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgk0ci62IMk&feature=youtu.be.
Brand finds teaching at OLLI at Duke very satisfying. Unlike many undergraduate students, OLLI lifelong learners are easy to engage, and they bring a lot to each class they attend. In his OLLI classes, his students range from beginning scientific learners to people who have taught and worked in highly scientific fields. Brand learns from his students and continually modifies his classes based on the questions and ideas OLLI members pose in class.
Brand has taught a 1-hour class using Zoom for OLLI, and he finished the Spring 2020 term at NCSU using Zoom. Brand has been working to overcome some of the challenges that Zoom presents (vs. in-person classes), especially finding new ways to keep the class interactive. A big advantage that Brand finds with Zoom is the ability to simultaneously teach students from across the country—or the world (and perhaps, in the future, across the universe).
*Registration opens at 9:00 am on May 11, 2020, for the Spring Zoom term May 19-June 25, 2020. Brand’s course “Are We Alone in the Universe?” will be held on Tuesdays at 10:00 am. The course number is 3126.