Inquiry into Physics, 9th Edition

Vern Ostdiek was an Associate Professor at Benedictine College, where he had a joint appointment in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. In addition to teaching courses in physics, mathematics, and computer science, he oversaw the Computer Discovery Lab. Vern was named Benedictine College's Educator of the Year in 1999. His research interests centered on the nocturnal dynamics of the lower part of the Earth's atmosphere. Past research topics included noctilucent clouds and frontal zones.

Don Bord, Ph.D., is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Prior to his appointment, he taught at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where his collaboration with Vern Ostdiek led to the development and publication of INQUIRY INTO PHYSICS, now in its 8th Edition. Don has an abiding interest in physics and astronomy education, particularly as it pertains to laboratory instruction, and has published articles in The American Journal of Physics, The Physics Teacher, and Sky and Telescope. He was co-editor, with Clint Sprott, of the first edition of Great Ideas for Teaching Physics. Don's research focuses on determining the abundance of heavy and rare-earth elements in chemically peculiar stars and the Sun using high-resolution spectra. Don served as chair of the Department of Natural Sciences, associate dean for planning and faculty development and associate provost, interim chair of the Department of Health and Human Services in 2016. He was the first recipient of the University of Michigan's Jacqueline Lawson Award for his contributions in the area of faculty governance.

Vahé Peroomian is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in Physics from the University of California at Los Angeles. He was awarded a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at the Aerospace Corporation, after which he returned to UCLA to carry out research in magnetospheric physics with funding from NASA and the National Science Foundation. During nearly three decades of research, he gave over 200 invited and contributed presentations at scientific conferences and published over 60 research papers in refereed journals. Dr. Peroomian has devoted himself to teaching undergraduate physics courses and general education astronomy courses for the last 27 years. While at UCLA, he was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award by the Department of Physics and Astronomy for each of the nine academic years he taught there. At USC, he received the 2019–2020 General Education Teaching Award, was selected for the inaugural Interdisciplinary Teaching Program Grant and the inaugural iPodia Faculty Fellows Program, and received the 2024 Dornsife Communicator of the Year Award in Physical Sciences and Mathematics. Dr. Peroomian is an author on Physics for Scientists and Engineers (Serway, Jewett, and Peroomian, 11th edition). He has also written several articles on popular astronomy for The Conversation. From 2005 to 2020, Dr. Peroomian served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Glendale Community College in Glendale, California, a city-wide elected position to which he was reelected three times. Dr. Peroomian is an avid hiker and photographer and is often on road trips with his wife Carolyn and his children. He has published two books of essays and photographs, A Photographic Journey of My Homeland, Armenia and Ode to the Eastern Sierra.