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September 12, 2005 Vol.
77, no. 3F
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| MSE associate professor Daryl C.
Chrzan holds a joint appointment at Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, where he is a member of the Electronic Materials Program.
He received his Ph.D. in condensed matter theory from the Berkeley
physics department in 1989. In 1995, he joined the MSE department.
His research interests include the mechanical properties of metals
and metallic compounds, the structure of extended defects in solids,
and the growth of nanostructures. (Photo Credit: Peg
Skorpinski)
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Professor
Minute with MSE associate professor Daryl Chrzan
What first inspired
you to go into engineering?
I was trained as a physicist. I decided to pursue a degree in physics
my senior year in high school shortly after being introduced to the
theory of special relativity. This theory appeared to be more science
fiction than fact. I had to learn more.
To date, what has been the most memorable moment in your career
and why?
The day that I found out I was coming to Berkeley as a professor. As
a graduate student at Berkeley, I presumed that a Berkeley academic
appointment was out of reach. I was very pleased to have my presumption
disproved.
If you could teach any course, what would it be?
I am in the fortunate position of teaching the courses that I like to
teach. However, in a perfect world, I would like to teach a two-semester
course sequence on computational materials science. One semester is
not enough time to do justice to the field.
What do you like
to do in your spare time?
Mainly, I spend time with my family. Oddly enough, I spend a lot of
time on a skateboard in the company of my son. I ride bowls and ramps
“old school” style. My son is much better than I am. We
also race nitromethane-powered radio-controlled cars and spend a bit
of time wakeboarding, fishing, mountain biking, and surfing.
What is your favorite
place to eat in/around campus?
I like Plearn on University, though I don’t eat there as often
as I would like. Thai food is my idea of a good meal.
If you would like us
to feature your favorite professor, please e-mail his or her name to
engnews@coe.berkeley.edu.
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