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Weldon Wilson, Ph.D.
Professor
About
I am a native Oklahoman having been born in the thriving metropolis of Wynnewood in southern Oklahoma during the later Cenozoic era. I am by training a professional theoretical physicist and by avocation an amateur philosopher. As a long-time season ticket holder of football and basketball tickets at Oklahoma State University, I also obviously have a pathological fondness for supporting perennial also-rans. I have been married for almost forty years to a woman who suffers from the same malady. I like to take long walks in the evening with my dog - a Scottish terrier named Mr. Wooks or Wookie for short. I have one grown son who fortunately did not follow in my path.
Classes Taught
- Physics for Scientists and Engineers II
- Modern Physics
- Engineering Optics
- Analytical Mechanics
- Classical Mechanics
- Mathematical Physics II
- Quantum Mechanics
- Electromagnetic Fields I & II
- Solid State Devices
- General Relativity
Education and Certifications
- Ph.D., Physics, Oklahoma State University, 1980
- B.S., Physics, Oklahoma State University, 1973
Experience
2000–Present Professor of Physics & Engineering, Univ. of Central Oklahoma
1997–2000 Associate Professor of Physics, Univ. of Central Oklahoma
1992–1997 Assistant Professor of Physics, Univ. of Central Oklahoma
1987–1992 Senior Engineering Advisor, Occidental Petroleum
1985–1987 Senior Research Physicist, Occidental Petroleum
1982–1985 Assistant Professor of Physics, Univ. of Central Florida
1980–1982 Research Physicist, Cities Service Oil & Gas
Honors and Awards
- 1996 and 1998 Advanced Placement Physics Exam Consultant for Educational Testing Service (ETS).
- Selected to 1994 Project Kaleidoscope Faculty for the 21st Century (Top 150 Science Faculty at Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions).
- Invited Speakert, 1994 Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientific Computing Workshop
- Hauptman Fellowship Award, 2000
- Sigma Xi, Distinguished Researcher of the Year 2000
- Outstanding Professor Academy 2000
Research, Published Work, and Scholarly Activities
Selected Publications:
Quantum Corrections to the Motion of Classical Charges in High Intensity Electromagnetic Fields,” Physical Review E 54, 885–890 (1996).
“Extension of Nordgren’s Vertical Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Model to Non-Newtonian Fracturing Fluids,” in Developments in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Vol. XVIII, Edited by H. B. Wilson and H. L. Hill, (University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, 1996), p. 23–34.
“Non-Newtonian Fluid Leak-off in Hydraulic Fracturing,” in Developments in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Vol. XVII, Edited by Ing-Chang Jong, (University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, 1994), p. 46–57.
“Bohr-Sommerfeld Quantization of Hydrogen-Like Atoms in Kaluza-Klein Theory”, Physica Scripta 30, 389 (1984).
“Nonlinear Wave Function Formulation for Compressible Fluid Mechanics,” in Advances in Nonlinear Waves, Edited by L. Debnath, (Pitman, San Francisco, 1984), p. 142.
“Relativistic Many-Body Systems—Evolution-Parameter Formalism,” (with J. R. Fanchi), Foundations of Physics 13, 571 (1983).
“An Inverse Scattering Approach to the Pressure Transient Analysis of Petroleum Reservoirs,” in Inverse Scattering: Theory and Applications, Eds. J. B. Bednar, A. B. Weglein, and R. Redner, (SIAM, Philadelphia, 1983), p. 172.
“Note on Bäcklund Transformations, Dirac Factorization, and the Sine-Gordon Equation,” (with N. V. V. J. Swamy), Il Nuovo Cimento A 56, 44 (1980).
“Internal Gauge Symmetry and the Gravitational Field,” Journal of General Relativity and Gravitation 12, 51 (1980).
Recent Presentations:
"Dark Matter at the Sub-atomic Particle Level," Oklahoma Academy of Science, Rogers State University , Claremore OK. (November 3, 2017).
"Bohr Model of Hydrogen-Like Atom in 2D," Oklahoma Academy of Science, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences , Tulsa OK. (November 4, 2016).
"Some Little-Known Relativistic Invariants," Oklahoma Academy of Science, Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma City, OK. (November 13, 2015).
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is simple – Even great teachers cannot teach another person anything, they can only inspire others to learn for themselves. To my knowledge, no one has ever claimed any of my lectures were inspirational. One of my core beliefs is that no answer is any good unless (1) you understand how you got it and (2) you know how inaccurate it is. This belief has annoyed more than a few of my students. I take learning and teaching seriously, perhaps too seriously, and am generally prepared and organized, but perhaps not too organized, in teaching my classes. At best, I am little more than a mediocre teacher for the students at UCO.
The views expressed by UCO faculty and staff on their personal websites and social media pages do not necessarily reflect the positions of the University of Central Oklahoma. UCO faculty and staff are advised to follow the university’s social media guidelines and are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with policies outlined in UCO’s Employee Handbook and/or Faculty Handbook.