My graduate research is concentrated on nonlinear optical phenomena, and encompasses a wide range of experimental, theoretical, and computational methods.  I am interested in understanding nonlinear phenomena, in the broad general sense.  I think I’m a rare theorist in that I am not afraid to get my hands dirty (I hope I don’t offend).  I like working in a lab, and putting my ideas to the test.  It gives me a different perspective than most, because I get to see where my computational models need refining or simplifying.  Also, when I pretend to be an experimentalist (I say ‘pretend’ because any true experimentalist would be embarrassed by the number of times I’ve had to be shown how to turn on the different lasers) I am constantly trying to prove my assertions by adding another experiment, instead of relegating a trend to an assumption.  I chose to concentrate for the time being on nonlinear optical materials because I believe that they are the most feasible testing ground for nonlinear phenomena.  An immediate application of my research is in materials development for optical power limiting and optical switching for rapid communication networks.  I primarily study metal-organic molecules, due to their promise of high nonlinear response and ease of structural modification, and have been focusing on a series of pentaazadentate metalloporphyrin complexes.  These same molecules, due to their ability to fluoresce in high quantum yield and efficently produce singlet oxygen, may also be useful agents for the photodynamic emission-based detection and treatment of cancerous and atheromatous diseases.  I also have a strong interest in astronomy and planetary science, and hope to someday apply my research toward those ends.

     I am an amateur astronomer, and try to spread the joy of exploration of the night sky to students from every level of education.  I have held the NSF GK-12 fellowship since 1999, and teach astronomy and physics in the local high schools and elementary schools as well as at the college level.  I love to teach, and really enjoy seeing curiosity about science become a thirst for knowledge.  I feel that it is extremely important to squelch the pervading belief among students that physics is difficult to understand and is some esoteric thing not useful to them in their everyday lives.  It is my quest to show them that they can’t live without it!

     Please feel free to check out all of my website, and send me an email.  I tried to present a sense of who I am, what I’ve been doing with the last few years of my life, and a good basic understanding of the stuff I like to do.  I have posted (or will soon post) copies of all my publications on this website.  Download them if you like, however they and anything else in this website are for personal use only, so if you plan to use any of the content on the following pages, please get my permission first.  All references to papers should be made to the appropriate journals or to my PhD dissertation and not to my website.  Soon I will be adding pages explaining each of my research topics and some of the courses I have taught.  Let me know what you think about my website.

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Last updated 03/01/05.