Improving How Universities Teach Science: Lessons from the Science Education Initiative

  • Carl Wieman
HARVARD UNIV. PRESS: 2017. 288PP. £27.95

Cosmic Debris: What It Is and What We Can Do About It

  • Jonathan Powell
SPRINGER NATURE: 2017. 267PP. £26.99

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

  • Neil deGrasse Tyson
W.W. NORTON & COMPANY: 2017. 224PP. £14.76

Science literacy is increasingly important in today's world. Carl Wieman distils his experience from engaging with science-teaching institutions in the USA and Canada and offers research-informed ways to improve science teaching and learning both on a classroom scale but also department-wide, while also taking into account the finiteness of faculty time.

More of an almanac rather than a scientific treatment of the topic, this book looks at cosmic debris in the more liberal sense of the word (it includes minor planets and moons). The author discusses some of the most representative cases for each of the debris categories and even provides a helpful guide for amateur astronomers hoping to observe some of these celestial objects.

“The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you,” epigraphs Neil deGrasse Tyson, yet he makes a valiant effort to cover the whole Universe in 200 pages — “for those too busy to read fat books”. A collection of previously published and newly written essays, the author explains in his familiar way topics that range from the Big Bang and dark energy to galaxies and exoplanets.