Frederick Gittes

Biography

I am interested in electromagnetism, optics, thermodynamics, classical and quantum mechanics, and differential geometry.  I have developed theoretical models of complex and biological systems, and designed and implemented new procedures and methods of analysis in microscopy, optical trapping and micromanipulation. A new interest for me is the application of differential forms and geometry to areas of physics where they have not been previously used.

Four Outstanding Senior Award winners have asked me to co-present their awards as their most influential teacher:  Jenna Degreef 2013, Justin Niedermeyer 2016, Matthew Waldrip 2017,  and Kenny Haak 2018.

2020 Faculty Teaching Awards

Excellence in Teaching by a Clinical Faculty Member

Courses

Teaching at WSU:

• Physics 101, General Physics I
• Physics 205, Honors physics with calculus I
• Physics 206, Honors physics with calculus II
• Physics 201, Introductory physics with calculus I
• Physics 202, Introductory physics with calculus II
• Physics 303, Modern Physics I
• Physics 304, Modern Physics II
• Physics 533, Graduate Thermal and Statistical Physics
• Physics 342, Electricity and Magnetism I
• Physics 341, Electricity and Magnetism II
• Physics 465, Nuclear and Particle Physics
• Physics 461, Atomic and Molecular Physics
• Physics 590-2, Graduate Differential Geometry for Physics
• Physics 466/566 (undergrad/graduate), Biological Physics
  • Biological Physics Flyer (pdf)
• Physics 541, Electromagnetic Theory I (graduate)
• Physics 542, Electrodynamics II (graduate)
• Physics 555, Quantum Theory I (graduate)
• Science 199, Integrated Science for Honors II
• Physics 150, Physics and Your World

Notable Publications

Gittes, F., (2018) Two famous results of Einstein derived from the Jarzynski equality. Am. J. Phys. 86, 31–35 (2018) (Preprint) Highlighted by Nature Physics.

Saberi, I., and F. Gittes (2011). Nonconservative forcing and diffusion in refractive optical traps. Journal of the Optical Society of America B, vol. 28, no. 10, 2369-2373. Selected for JOSA’s “Spotlight on Optics” distinction.

Varney, C. R., and F. Gittes (2011). Locating the source of projectile fluid droplets. American Journal of Physics vol. 79 Issue 8 pp. 838-842 Physics World news story. National CBC News Story (mp3 audio)

Notable Talks

• Falling cats, curvature and gauge theory, WSU Physics and Astronomy Colloquium (2018)
• Electromagnetism as Geometry, Colloquium, Physics & Astronomy department, WSU (2017)
• Nuclear radiation in physics and in popular culture, Incoming Freshman Talk, Honors College (multimedia, with Mark O’English), WSU (2011)
• The physics of blood spatter. Colloquium, Physics & Astronomy department, WSU (2008)
• The physics of cells. Colloquium, Physics & Astronomy department, WSU (2001)
• The Physics of the Cell, Three-part public lecture series in Ann Arbor, MI, sponsored by the Department of Physics and the University of Michigan (1996)

All Publications

• van Mameren, J., Vermeulen, K., Gittes, F., and C.F. Schmidt (2009). Leveraging single protein polymers to measure flexural rigidity. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 113, Issue 12, 3837-3844.
• Peterman, E. J. G., Gittes, F., and C.F. Schmidt (2003). Laser-induced heating in optical traps. Biophysical Journal, vol. 84, 1308-1316.
• Schnurr, B., F. Gittes, and F.C. MacKintosh (2002). Metastable intermediates in the
  condensation of semiexible polymers. Physical Review E, vol. 65, 61904.
• Agayan, R. R., F. Gittes, R. Kopelman and C.F. Schmidt (2002). Theory of optical
  trapping near resonance absorption. Applied Optics, vol. 41, 2318-2327.
• Saberi, I., and F. Gittes (2011). Nonconservative forcing and diffusion in refractive optical traps. Journal of the Optical Society of America B, in press
• Varney, C. R., and F. Gittes (2011). Locating the source of projectile fluid droplets. American Journal of Physics vol. 79 Issue 8 pp. 838-842 Physics World news story. National CBC News Story (mp3 audio)
• Welch, K., and F. Gittes (2011, under review). Ion-sensitive phase transitions driven by Debye-Hückel non-ideality. http://arxiv.org/abs/1109.2522.
• Skulason, G., and F. Gittes (In preparation, 2009-10). Differential-forms approach to
  simple induction motors.
• van Mameren, J., Vermeulen, K., Gittes, F., and C.F. Schmidt (2009). Leveraging single
  protein polymers to measure exural rigidity. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 113,
  Issue 12, 3837-3844.
• Peterman, E. J. G., Gittes, F., and C.F. Schmidt (2003). Laser-induced heating in optical
  traps. Biophysical Journal, vol. 84, 1308-1316.
• Schnurr, B., F. Gittes, and F.C. MacKintosh (2002). Metastable intermediates in the
  condensation of semiexible polymers. Physical Review E, vol. 65, 61904.
• Agayan, R. R., F. Gittes, R. Kopelman and C.F. Schmidt (2002). Theory of optical
  trapping near resonance absorption. Applied Optics, vol. 41, 2318-2327.
• Gittes, F., B. Schnurr, C.F. Schmidt, P. D. Olmsted, and F.C. MacKintosh (1998).
  Model for dynamic shear modulus of semiexible polymer solutions. Materials
  Research Society Symp. Proc., vol. 489, 49-54.
• Gittes, F. and F.C. MacKintosh (1998). Dynamic shear modulus of a semiexible polymer
  network. Physical Review E, vol. 58, R1241-1244.
• Gittes, F. and C. F. Schmidt (1998). Interference model for back-focal-plane displacement
  detection in optical tweezers. Optics Letters, vol. 23, 7-9.
• Allersma, M. W., F. Gittes, M. J. deCastro, R. J. Stewart, and C. F. Schmidt (1998)
  Two-dimensional tracking of ncd motility by back focal plane interferometry. Biophysical Journal,
  vol. 74, 1074-1085.
• Gittes, F. and C. F. Schmidt (1998). Thermal noise limitations on micromechanical
  experiments. European Biophysical Journal, vol. 27, 75-81.
• Schnurr, B., F. Gittes, P. D. Olmsted, C.F. Schmidt, and F.C. MacKintosh (1997).
  Local viscoelasticity of biopolymer solutions. Materials Research Society Symp.
  Proc., vol. 463, 15-20.
• Schnurr, B., F. Gittes, F.C. MacKintosh, and C.F. Schmidt (1997). Determining microscopic
  viscoelasticity in exible and semiexible polymer networks. Macro-molecules, vol. 30, 7781-7792.
• Gittes, F., B. Schnurr, P.D. Olmsted, F.C. MacKintosh, and C.F. Schmidt (1997). Microscopic
  viscoelasticity: shear moduli of soft materials determined from thermal fluctuations. Physical Review Letters, vol. 79, 3286-3289.
• Gittes, F. and C. F. Schmidt (1996) Microscopic approaches to dynamics and structure
  of biological motors. Curr. Opin. in Solid State & Materials Science, vol. 1, pp. 412-424.
• Gittes, F., E. Meyhofer, S. Baek, and J. Howard (1996). Directional loading of the
  kinesin motor molecule as it buckles a microtubule. Biophysical Journal, vol. 70,
  418-429.
• Hunt, A. J., F. Gittes, and J. Howard (1994). The force exerted by a single kinesin
  molecule against a viscous load. Biophysical Journal, vol. 67, 766-781.
• Gittes, F., B. Mickey, J. Nettleton, and J. Howard (1993). Flexural rigidity of microtubules
  and actin _laments measured from thermal uctuations in shape. Journal
  of Cell Biology, vol. 120, 923-934.
• Gittes, F. (1988). Estimating mean particle volume and number from random sections
  by sampling pro_le boundaries. Journal of Microscopy, vol. 158, 1-18.
• Gittes, F. and R. P. Bolender (1987). Counting cell nuclei with random sections: the
  e_ect of shape. Micron and Microscopica Acta, vol. 18, 59-70.
• Gittes, F. and M. Schick (1984). Complete and incomplete wetting by adsorbed solids.
  Physical Review B, vol. 30, 209-214.

Book chapters

• Gittes, F. and C. F. Schmidt (1997). Signals and noise in micromechanical measurements.
  In Methods in Cell Biology, vol. 55: Laser Tweezers in Cell Biology. Ed.
  M. P. Sheetz. Academic Press, New York pp. 129-156.
• Howard, J. and F. Gittes (1997) Motor proteins. In Physics of Biological Systems: From
  Molecules to Species. Eds. H. Flyvbjerg, J. Hertz, M. H. Jensen, O. G. Mouritsen,
  K. Sneppen. Springer Lecture Notes in Physics, Springer-Verlag, Berlin. pp. 155-
  170.
• Gittes, F., E. Meyhofer, S. Baek, D. Coy, B. Mickey, and J. Howard (1996). Force
  generation by the microtubule-based motor protein kinesin. In Nanofabrication
  and Biosystems. Eds. H. Hoch, L. W. Jelinski, and H. G. Craighead. Cambridge
  U. Press., Cambridge, pp. 367-380.