Frederick Purnell, Jr Author

Michael S. Petterson is Joseph A. Walker Professor and Chair of Physics at Washington and Jefferson College. He has published work in the area of surface physics. A strong proponent of general science education, he has taught a variety of courses for nonscience students, including environmental physics and astronomy. Frederick Purnell, Jr. was professor of philosophy at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. A specialist in Renaissance and early modern thought, he published numerous articles based on his research in European libraries and archives. His work emphasized the relationship between philosophy and science in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with particular attention to thinkers with ties to Galileo. The Galileo game is dedicated to the memory of Professor Purnell, a fine scholar, committed teacher, and unabashed lover of Rome. Mark C. Carnes is professor of history at Barnard College and creator of Reacting to the Past. He is the author of many books in American history and general editor of the 26-volume American National Biography, published by the ACLS and Oxford University Press.