Jerry McCoy

Co-host, Science Matters

Applied Associate Professor
Physics & Engineering Physics

Jerry's interest in science-physics in particular-began early when his father gave him a children's book on the planets. That gift was followed by a steady diet of steam engines, Erector sets, chemistry kits, science fairs, LOTS of reading about science and math, and degrees in Engineering Physics and Applied Mathematics from the University of Tulsa. Jerry continues his lifelong love of science, learning and teaching from his professor's bully pulpit at TU.

He also does "Professor McCoy's Wonderful World of Physics" for audiences all over northeastern Oklahoma and runs the TU Physics Journal Club, a large monthly gathering of science aficionados who meet to eat pizza and reflect on current progress in physics. Science Matters is Jerry's happy collaboration with childhood chum, John Henshaw.

Of all that he does, Jerry is most proud of his family, comprised of his lovely wife, Anne, of 30+ years and his four most excellent children. Jerry devotes considerable interest to matters of faith, particularly their intersection with science, a topic on which he speaks frequently to groups around the Tulsa area.

Science Matters
4:00 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Planet Earth

Credit Wikipedia

Got your ticket for an interstellar vacation? That trip might be your last, depending on the destination. It turns out that there are very few places in the universe hospitable to lifeforms like us. Jerry and John fill us in on what's out there.

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Science Matters
11:51 am
Tue April 30, 2013

Energy

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How many scientists does it take to change light bulb behavior? Two plus a spouse. Follow along as professors Henshaw and McCoy explore the topic of how energy affects your life.

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Science Matters
9:53 am
Tue April 2, 2013

IQ

Credit Wikimedia Commons
IQ test example

What's your IQ? Afraid to ask? You won't be scared, though, to learn how the IQ score came into existence. Intrepid science explorers John Henshaw and Jerry McCoy  travel back to 1899 as a French psychologist begins to help children with special needs.

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Science Matters
11:05 am
Fri March 15, 2013

Structural Color

Credit wronex.deviantart.com

You thought you learned everything you needed to know about color when mucking around with tempera paints in kindergarden. Not so. Nature has clever ways of revealing colors that we never imagined.

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Science Matters
4:36 pm
Wed March 13, 2013

Aging

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In the Darwinian struggle for survival, why do some species age so much more quickly than others? Jerry and John slowly come to a quick conclusion. In dog years.

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Science Matters
3:38 pm
Mon March 11, 2013

Golden Rectangle

Credit sv.wikipedia.org

Some rectangles are really golden and we cherish them enough to carry them in our pockets or purse. But what did Pythagoras and his cronies have to do with this discovery? Let's dive in and explore on this edition of Science Matters.

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Science Matters
12:44 pm
Sat March 9, 2013

Henry Mosely

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He should have won a Nobel prize at the tender age of 26 when he introduced amazing physics insights to what exclusively had been a chemistry problem. But World War I intervened.

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Science Matters
9:21 am
Wed January 23, 2013

Perpetual Motion

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These days, you aren't required to actually build a model any invention that you're wanting to file at the U.S. Patent Office except for one thing: a perpetual motion machine. And for good reason, it seems.

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Science Matters
9:21 am
Tue January 1, 2013

Albert Einstein

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Albert Einstein's path to the Nobel prize was anything but smooth. He was nominated eleven different years for the prize and finally didn't win what you think that he did. 

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Science Matters

“Any sufficiently advanced technology,” as Arthur C. Clarke once said, “Is indistinguishable from magic.” But the real magic in the world of science and technology comes from understanding it. Join University of Tulsa professors Jerry McCoy and John Henshaw on a magical mystery tour of scientific knowledge. They’ll entertain you and raise your science IQ all at the same time. Ready? Earbuds in; amazement on; listen.