Generations of graduate students have been educated by the classical mechanics text of Goldstein. However, students tend to remember this weighty tome as a rite of passage rather than an engaging or illuminating manuscript. Prof. Gralla has developed a totally new approach to mechanics that breathes life into this old, but still important subject, while achieving an unprecedented level of clarity. In course reviews, students consistently praise his course notes and compare them favorably to Goldstein. The notes are largely complete, but still require polishing, checking, literature searches, and figure-making - essential but largely thankless tasks for which he seeks philanthropic support. Your donation will buy out Gralla's teaching responsibilities for a semester and support contract labor to help check equations and produce figures. In exchange, Dr. Gralla will commit to publishing the book with a top publisher who can provide the prestige and marketing necessary to reach large audiences. With your support, this brand new approach can replace Goldstein as the new standard in graduate classical mechanics education and inspire a new generation of physics students worldwide.
About Prof. Gralla
Gralla received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2011 and held postdoctoral positions at University of Maryland and Harvard University before joining our faculty in 2015. An expert in gravitational physics and relativistic astrophysics, he has received numerous awards and honors, including the IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in General Relativity and Gravitation (2018), the Charles W. Misner Endowed Lectureship in Gravitational Physics (2023), and the Galileo Circle Curie Award (2024). He is well known as an engaging and clear speaker, and his public lectures draw live crowds in the thousands. Check out the videos below to see if this is the kind of person you would like to support!
Below is a PDF with the book's preface and table of contents. Additional samples from the text are available upon request.
Inquiries may be sent to department head Prof. Shufang Su (shufang@arizona.edu) or directly to Prof. Gralla (sgralla@arizona.edu).
To donate click the "give now" link below. Choose “Physics Gift Account” in the "I would like to support" section and in the “Tribute Information”, add “Gralla’s Mechanics Textbook” in “Name”. Thank you!