Jack is an incoming Ph.D. student in the Chemistry Department at the University of Oregon. He will be working within the Center for Optical, Molecular and Quantum Science, the recently reorganized faction of physicists and chemists on campus.

His research interest lies mainly in optical and biophysical science, particularly the development of spectroscopic techniques and computational approaches for biophysical modeling. The combination of novel spectroscopic methods and computational modeling can lead to a detailed understanding of the structure and dynamics which underlie critical biological processes.

His hope for the future is to bring his research and expertise in optics and biophysics to the greater industry of life sciences. Newly emerging biophysical technologies hinge heavily on the development of methods for generating, measuring, and analyzing optical signals from small molecules. The experimental results from these technologies often require sophisticated analyses to maximally harness the information content available.

Some of the major sectors emerging out of the biophysical life science industry are next generation sequencing platforms, high throughput molecular assays and single molecule measurements for highly dynamic and heterogeneous systems. All these approaches rely on a higher degree of physical and chemical expertise than earlier technologies in the life sciences industry, thereby ushering in a new era in the life sciences.

As the world moves towards greater levels of quantification and technicality in understanding soft matter systems at the scale of molecular biology, these newly emerging sectors will become indispensable.

Jack completed his undergraduate education at the University of Denver, majoring in chemistry and physics as well as obtaining minors in mathematics and german. He graduated in 2016 and worked as a technical sales consultant within the elevator industry prior to making the decision to continue his education.

He received the Outstanding Senior in Physics Award, completed a thesis on the “Measurement of electron dephasing in semiconductor nanostructures” as well as two independent research projects in atmospheric chemistry and optical physics.