The man for whom physics was his business.
In the late 1960s,
Sydney University hosted a series of television programs that taught physics. These 'classes' were instructed by a curiously animated man. Professor Julius Sumner Miller was a professor of Physics from El Camino Colledge, California. With his
New England accent and a distinctly energetic approach towards his passion of science, he managed to communicate and educate many practical concepts of
the laws of physics to people all over the world. With thanks due to the
Public Broadcasting System, this man's curious and admittedy
geeky approach has enlightened and entertained thousands.
All in all he was involved in three television shows in his lifetime. Professor Miller's "Demonstrations in Physics" was first produced and broadcast in Australia in the
1960s. Before that he appeared on
The Mickey Mouse Club as Professor Wonderful. His tenure with Disney was from
1955 to
1959. Finally, in
1971 Miller starred in the TV series "The Hilarious House of Frightenstein" as simply "The Professor." In his science program, each week he would tackle a new scientific problem, with the assistance of meticulous and melodramatic presentations of lab experiments. Using
chalkboards and
beakers and
bunsen burners and more props than
Gallagher's comedy routine, Professor Julius Sumner Miller would explain complex concepts in ways any old Joe could comprehend. He is perhaps the epitome and modern stereotype of a corny screwball scientist. Though eccentric, he was also human, and was able to transcend through all the muck and bull of scientific jargon, and sell physics to you straight.
Miller was born at
Billerica,
Massachusets in 1909. By the age of sixteen he claimed to have read everything at the local library. He graduated during
The Great Depression and was unable to find a job as a physics professor for some time, until he was hired by a private school in Connecticut. He studied under the tutelage of
Albert Einstein. Throughout his life he worked for several different schools, and spread his knowledge throughout the planet. Unfortunately, Professor Miller passed away April 14th
1987 in
San Jose,
California of
leukemia. However, he willed his body to the
University of Southern California School of Dentistry. Hey. I ain't makin' this stuff up.
It's on the Web so it must be true!
Sydney University now has a gentleman named
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki who is credited with being their Inaugural Julius Sumner Miller Fellow. This prestigious title goes to the one who inherited Miller's position at the University, and Kruszelnicki continues on in the tradition of answering simple mysteries of the universe through scientific exploration. He goes around to schools all over the continent, teaching young people of all walks of life, expanding their minds and enriching their future.
"And I thank you for listening to this adventure, and we shall return another day." - Professor Julius Sumner Miller