James Maas

James Maas is a social psychologist, Professor at Cornell University, and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow. He is best known for his work in the field of sleep research, specifically the relationship between sleep and performance. He famously coined the term "power nap" and wrote the best-selling book "Power Sleep". He holds a B.A. from Williams College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell.

Maas has produced numerous film specials on sleep research for PBS, BBC, among others.

For his teaching, Maas has received the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Teaching Award and Cornell's Clark Award for Distinguished Teaching.

For over forty years, he has taught Psychology 101 at Cornell. The class has achieved a "near-mythical status" and often has an enrollment of near 1600 students, making it one of the largest classes in the country cite news|author = Karen W. Arenson |publisher=New York Times|title = Lining Up to Get a Lecture; A Class With 1,600 Students and One Popular Teacher |url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9905EED9123BF934A25752C1A9669C8B63&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=1|date = 17-11-2000|accessdate= 2008-09-23] . The class' size requires a large venue, Bailey Hall, the University's concert hall. Since he began teaching, he has instructed over 50,000 students.

Maas was found guilty of sexual harassment in December 1994 by a faculty ethics committee.cite news|author = Davidson Goldin |publisher=New York Times|title = Harassment Case Tarnishes Cornell Star's Luster |url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE4DB1031F930A15750C0A963958260| date = 23-03-1995|accessdate= 2008-09-23] He was not dismissed but warned future complaints would result in his dismissal. Various behavioral sanctions were also recommended by the committee.cite news|author = Tamar Lewin |title = Sexual Harassment Charged at Cornell|publisher=New York Times|url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7D8113BF934A15752C0A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1|date = 27-01-1995 |accessdate = 2008-09-23] Maas later sued Cornell but his claims were dismissed. cite news|author = |publisher = New York Times|title = Court Dismisses Professor's Suit against Cornell| url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A05EEDC123BF93AA15750C0A96E958260&scp=1&sq=cornell%20maas&st=cse | date = 29-03-1998 |accessdate= 2008-09-23]

References

External links

* [http://comp9.psych.cornell.edu/people/Faculty/jbm1.html Maas's faculty page at Cornell]
* [http://www.powersleep.org/ Power Sleep]