Skip to the content

Kansas State University

 

 

 

facebook

Join us on facebook

 

Check out K-State on YouTube

 

Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu
Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.
  1. K-State Home >
  2. Media Relations >
  3. Media guide >
  4. Bio index >
  5. Christopher Sorensen bio

CHRISTOPHER SORENSEN
University Distinguished Professor of physics

 

Chris SorensenThe world of physics continues to fascinate Christopher Sorensen, University Distinguished Professor of physics and chemistry (adjunct) at Kansas State University. Sorensen was named the Cortelyou-Rust Distinguished Professor in 2009.

With a passion for physics, Sorensen began teaching at K-State in 1977. He was named Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities Professor of the Year in 2007 by the CASE/Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He is a native of Omaha, Neb., and received a bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1969. Sorensen was drafted into the army for two years and served in Vietnam. He returned to school to receive master's and doctorate degrees in physics from the University of Colorado.

Sorensen has pursued research in light scattering, optics, water and aqueous solutions, phase transitions and critical phenomena, metastable liquids, nanoscale particles, combustion physics and aerosol physics. He has received numerous research grants, published more than 180 professional publications and holds two patents.

Besides researching, Sorensen has created, developed and taught several courses and workshops for K-State's physics department. As a K-State presidential lecturer, he speaks at five high schools per year about science. Sorensen is a member of many professional societies, including the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Sorensen has received numerous honors, including Phi Beta Kappa, Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Stamey Teaching Award (twice), Commerce Bank Undergraduate Teaching Award, Commerce Bank Distinguished Graduate Faculty Member Award, University Distinguished Professor, the Presidential Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching and David Sinclair Award of the American Association for Aerosol Research. In 2008, he won a Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Award.

Sorensen can be reached at 785-532-1626 or by e-mail at sor@phys.ksu.edu.