Faculty & Staff Directory
Paul Fisher
B.A., Dartmouth College
Paul Fisher joined MBS in 1995 and is the Chair of the Computational and Information Sciences Department at Morristown Beard School, where he teaches computer science, animation, complex systems science, environmental modeling and space flight engineering. Previously, from 1998 through 2020, he was the Director of Academic Technology and he taught physics, geosciences and environmental science as a member of the Science Department for many years.
Paul graduated from Dartmouth with a double major in Physics and Earth Sciences, and a double minor in Environmental Studies and Music; he went on to earn a master's degree in Planetary Science from Brown University. Paul spent the years from graduation until 2005 as a research scientist and systems engineer in NASA's planetary research program. His areas of research expertise are systems science, planetary volcanism, climate modeling, 3d graphics, multi-spectral and radar imaging and data visualization. He is fluent in numerous computer programming languages with an emphasis on complex systems modeling and 3d animation.
Paul brings his research expertise into the classroom with NASA programs like the Goldstone-Apple Valley Radio Telescope, the Mars Student Imaging Project, and the Mars Exploration Student Data Team. Through these programs, MBS students have controlled a 43-meter radio telescope in the California desert and have used the Mars Odyssey spacecraft to take images of the surface of Mars and to perform award-winning advanced multi-spectral data research of water on Mars.
Paul also brings his systems thinking approach to the Summer Institute with a course in Ecological Economics, where he encourages students to relish the complexities and ambiguities that emerge from the intersection of scientific research and public policy.