P. Hyland

Peter Hyland received the B.S. degree in physics from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, and the Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison. He is currently working on cryogenic detectors for astrophysical measurements and with cutting-edge readout technology for those detectors that operate at a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. His work focuses on state-of-the-art readout instrumentation for experiments such as POLARBEAR, which measures the cosmic microwave background, i.e., the oldest light in the universe. In addition to his readout work, he is a member with the Teaching and Learning Laboratory (TLL), a Postdoctoral Associate for Physics Education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he works with other TLL members and with physics instructors from Interphase, which is a program of the MIT Office of Minority Education, to identify pivotal educational concepts and misconceptions and to design curricula and materials that teach those concepts and address the misconceptions. He also develops assessment protocols to evaluate new curricula and pedagogy.