Gary Oas
Division Head of Science & Physics Instructor
In January 1995, just prior to completing his Ph.D. at the University of California at Davis, Dr. Oas joined the Education Program for Gifted Youth at Stanford to take over the development and instruction of the physics curriculum. His thesis covered mathematical physics pertaining to quantum chaos (“Normal Matrix Models”).
He continues to do research in areas such as foundations of quantum mechanics, relativity, physics pedagogy, models of brain function, and random matrix models. Recently, he has been in collaboration with researchers from several institutions in defining and exploring contextuality within quantum mechanics and other areas.
At EPGY and later SPCS, Dr. Oas created several computer-based physics courses, on-site summer courses, and various OHS physics courses from the middle school to the university level. He initiated the EPGY Summer Institutes onsite summer courses in 2001 (later SPCS Pre-Collegiate Institutes and most recently SIO) in addition to the Summer College Academy program. He was a founding member of the OHS in 2006.
Dr. Oas has an interest in music, primarily blues, jazz, and gypsy jazz. He plays guitar, piano, and saxophone. He also enjoys aviation and holds a private pilot's license. He primarily enjoys talking about physics and reading up on physics research but has been known to pick up a good Wodehouse when the mood fits.
Publications
J.A. de Barros, G. Oas "Mapping quantum reality: what to do when the territory does not make sense?" The Map and the Territory, S. Wuppuluri, F.A. Doria editors. Springer, The Frontiers Collection, 325-342, 2018.
J.A. de Barros, G. Oas "Can we falsify the consciousness-causes-collapse hypothesis in quantum mechanics?" Foundations of Physics 47 (10), 1294-1308, 2017
J.A. de Barros, G. Oas "Quantum cognition, neural oscillators, and negative probabilities" The Palgrave Handbook of Quantum Models in Social Science, 195-228 2017
J.A. de Barros, J.V. Kujala, G. Oas, "Negative probabilities and contextuality" Journal of Mathematical Psychology 74, 34-45 2016
J.A. de Barros, G. Oas "Contextuality in Physics and Quantum Cognition" in Contextuality from Quantum Physics to Psychology, Advanced Series on Mathematical Psychology Vol 6. World Scientific 153-184 2016
G. Oas, J Acacio de Barros "A survey of physical principles attempting to define quantum mechanics” in Contextuality From Quantum Physics to Psychology, Advanced Series on Mathematical Psychology Vol 6. World Scientific 335-366 2016
J.A. de Barros, G. Oas "Quantum Mechanics & the Brain, and some of its Consequences" Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy 11 (2), 146-153 2015
J.A. de Barros, E.N. Dzhafarov, J.V. Kujala, G. Oas "Measuring observable quantum contextuality", 9th International symposium on quantum interaction Filzbach Switzerland: Lecture Notes in Computer Science 9533, 36-47 2015
G. Oas, J.A. de Barros, C. Carvalhaes "Exploring non-signalling polytopes with negative probability" Physica Scripta 2014 (T163), 014034 2014
JA de Barros, G Oas "Negative probabilities and counter-factual reasoning in quantum cognition" Physica Scripta 2014 (T163), 014008 2014
J.A. de Barros, G. Oas, P. Suppes "Negative probabilities and counterfactual reasoning on the double-slit experiment" arXiv preprint arXiv:1412.4888 2014
J.A. de Barros, G. Oas, “Response Selection Using Neural Phase Oscillators” in 'Foundations and Methods From Mathematics to Neuroscience' C. Crangle, A. G. de le Sienra, H. Longino editors, CSLI publications, 2014 from the Festschrift in honor of Patrick Suppes’s 90th Birthday arXiv:1208.6041 2012.
P. Suppes, J.A. de Barros, G. Oas. “Neural Phase Oscillator Representations of Behavioral Stimulus-Response Models.'’ Journal of Mathematical Psychology, Volume 56, Issue 2, April 2012, Pages 95–117
G. Oas. “On the Abuse and Use of Relativistic Mass,” https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0504110, 2005.
Suppes, P, J.A. de Barros, G. Oas “A Collection of Probabilistic Hidden-Variable Theorems and Counterexamples.” In Conf Proc “Waves, Information and Foundations of Physics,” Nouvo Cimento 60 (1998).
R. Ravaglia, R. Sommer, M. Sanders, G. Oas, C. DeLeone. “Computer-Based Mathematics and Physics for Gifted Remote Students,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Mathematics/Science Education and Technology (1997): 405.
G. Oas. “Universal Cubic Eigenvalue Repulsion for Normal Random Matrices,” Phys Rev E 55, 205 (1997).