Brett David Altschul

This is me		     
...and this is my beautiful wife,
Erica, at our wedding.
More pictures from our wedding are also available.

My wife maintains www.altschuls.net and her online writing site www.authalc.com.

On March 18, 2004 (my father's 55th birthday), our daughter, Lillian Marie Altschul, was born.
Physics

     I am a theoretical physicist, working in the particle theory group at Indiana University Bloomington, where I am a research associate.

I attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I earned bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physics and a doctorate in mathematics. My thesis advisor was Roman Jackiw, the Jerrold Zacharias professor of physics.

My thesis work focused on quantum theories in 1+1 dimensions (1 space, 1 time) and their useful relationship with more physical theories in 3+1 dimensions. I have very broad research interests, including: atomic molecular and optical physics, exotic states of condensed matter, quantum field theory in curved spacetime, renormalization theory, and Lorentz violation. Most of my recent work has involved this last topic, as IU is home to one of the most prestigious research groups studying Lorentz violation, led by Prof. Alan Kostelecký.

All my recent papers are available online through arXiv.org: I will be speaking on Friday, August 6 at the Third Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry at IU about asymptotically free Lorentz-violating theories.

I recently spoke at the 2003 Coral Gables Conference on High Energy Physics and Cosmology, on the subject of gauge invariance in Lorentz-violating theories.
Writing
     I am also a writer, having just recently completed the manuscript of my first novel: The Lost Wizard. I am currently at work on the sequel, The War of the Seasons. You can read the first chapter of The Lost Wizard online at the Author's Alcove.

While I was in Florida in December 2003, I met Carolyn Kephart, another fantasy author. Her novels, Wysard and Lord Brother, make for very interesting reading.
I've recently begun a blog, on which you will be able to find my thoughts on a variety of political and social questions.
Hobbies

Teamwork, by Larry Elmore 		     My biggest hobby is collecting Dungeons & Dragons products. The best source for information about vintage D&D items is The Acaeum, an online resource devoted to the topic, to which I have made several contributions.

I have a fairly extensive collection, but there are still a fair number of items I would like to obtain.
I also play the viola. In high school, I played with the Sprague High School Orchestra and was a founding member of the school's Camerata. In 1993, we won first prize at the International Youth and Music Festival in Vienna, Austria.

In college, I played with and served as an officer of the MIT Symphony Orchestra.
Email me.

Does anybody know what this is? Baby Herakles sitting on a giant skull?