Alex Small is a professor of physics and the chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). His training is in optics, with an emphasis on imaging and scattering theory applied to biology and materials science. He has been particularly active in understanding the fundamental limits to superresolution imaging methods that circumvent the diffraction limit. This work is highly interdisciplinary, combining ideas from physics, statistics, engineering, and even chemistry and biology.
Dr. Small is also an active writer and commentator on broader academic issues, including challenges for university science programs dealing with the shortcomings of k-12 math preparation, the use of diversity statements in academic hiring, academic freedom, and standardized testing. The overarching theme of his commentary is that hard educational problems cannot be solved simply by selecting for the "right" attitudes or beliefs. His commentary has been published in such venues as the Chronicle of Higher Education, Insider Higher Ed, The Hill, the Sacramento Bee, and the Orange County Register.
As an academic leader, Dr. Small is the chair of his department, a member of the university Academic Senate, and one of the early members of the CSU Faculty for Academic Freedom group. He has also worked to cultivate deeper ties between his department and industry, organizing an Industry Advisory Board for his department. Cal Poly Pomona is one of the few undergraduate-focused physics departments to have such a body advising it, and is nationally ranked for the number of bachelor's degrees in physics conferred every year.
In the wider profession, Dr. Small has been on the Board of the Optical Society of Southern California (OSSC) in various roles for more than a decade, serving as President in 2015-2016 and currently serving as Treasurer. The OSSC is a local affiliate of Optica, the leading international organization for research in optics, and serves as a bridge between local industry and academia.
In his spare time Dr. Small hikes, juggles, unicycles, spoils his dog, and tries to write fiction.