Professional Presentations

The Coach's Chalk Talk: How To Hit It Hard
This talk was a physics seminar at CSU Chico. The day before the College of Natural Sciences Softball Tournament is probably too late to improve the chances of physics becoming champions. Oh well, better late than never.

Some Physics of Hard Hit Balls
This talk was presented at the Sixth Annual Sabermertrics Seminar at Boston University in August 2016.

Statcast data shows plots of launch angle versus exit speed have a distinct shape. Within this shape, the homers form a small cluster. The underlying physics explains these two features. Of course, so does common sense. We'll see if I can connect the common sense to the physics.

Major League Physics: Using Baseball to Teach Mechanics
This workshop was presented at the American Association of Physics Teachers National Meeting in July 2013 at Portland, OR.

Baseball provides a wealth of material for introductory mechanics. We'll share a collection of demonstrations, hands-on activities, and on-line resources to enrich your physics classes. In addition, we'll be treated to a talk by Dr. Alan Nathan, the pre-eminent American baseball physicist. Among other things, you'll leave with Paul Robinson's renowned "The Physics of Baseball" DVD and, if you're lucky a raffle prize. So that you're really in the "swing" wear your favorite team gear and be prepared to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

Get in the Swing of Physics: The Physics of Baseball Bats
Presented at the Northern California American Association of Physics Teachers Meeting in November 2012 at Sierra College, Rocklin, CA. This was supposed to be a talk about the physics of baseball bats, but then Fox Sports used a 5000fps camera during the 2012 World Series. This talk was actually about all the physics you can learn from this video such as conservation of momentum, the sweet spot, and how bats break.

Fox Sports Infrared Camera
Presented at the Northern California American Association of Physics Teachers Meeting in November 2011 at the University of California, Berkeley, CA. At the 2011 World Series, Fox Sports used an infrared video camera which was interesting in itself. However, it collected the definitive piece of data during a crucial and controversial play late in the game.

Get in the Swing: The Physics of a Baseball Bat
Presented at the California State University, Chico Physics Department Seminar in April 2011. This talk focuses on the physics of the bat by looking at static quantities such as the center of mass and moment of inertia, as well as dynamic quantities like the location of vibrational nodes and the sweet spot. Can you find the slide with the physics mistake?

Put Me In Coach: The Physics of Baseball
A workshop presented at the 59th National Science Teachers Association National Meeting in March 2011 at the Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA. We covered a variety of topics including the projectile motion of a homerun, the physics of the bat, and the difference between wooden and aluminum bats. The workshop was sponsored by Sargent-Welch.

Using PITCHf/x to Teach Physics
Presented at the 2nd Annual PITCHf/x Summit in July 2009 at the Westin Hotel and AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA. This was a short talk thanking the folks at Sportvision and MLBAM for allowing easy access to the PITCHf/x database. We explained how we use the data to add some spice to our physics classes.

The Anatomy of a Pitch: Using PITCHf/x Data from Major League Baseball
Presented at the California State University, Chico Physics Department Seminar in February 2009. The methods of collecting PITCHf/x data and the meaning of each entry in the database were explained. In addition, the data for a particular pitch was used to calculate kinematic information about the pitch and to find the forces on the ball during flight.

Pitch Physics to Your Students: Using PITCHf/x Data from Major League Basbeball
An invited talk presented at the Northern California American Asociation of Physics Teachers Meeting in November 2008 at Foothill College, LosAltos, CA. This presentation is very similar to the one above.

Humidity and the COR of Baseballs
An invited talk presented at the American Asociation of Physics Teachers National Meeting in August 2004 at California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, CA. An experiment was described that measured the coefficient of restitution of baseballs as a function of the relative humidity at which they were stored. The humidor at Coors Field in Colorado was discussed.

Maintained by Dr. Baseball, Ph.D. ()