James Trefil was born in Chicago and educated at the University of Illinois, Oxford University, and Stanford University, where he earned a Ph.D. in physics. Currently Clarence H. Robinson Professor of physics at George Mason University, he is among the well-respected scientists who have the skill to translate physics for the general reader into prose worthy of an English major. For example, his "meditation trilogy," described below, recounts interesting examples, clear explanations, and the wonder of science in Trefil's beautiful and lively language.
