School of Humanities and Sciences
Showing 1,201-1,300 of 1,903 Results
-
Suman Patra
Postdoctoral Scholar, Chemistry
BioDr. Suman Patra is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University, working under the mentorship of Prof. Edward I. Solomon. His research focuses on uncovering the mechanistic intricacies of non-coupled binuclear copper (NBC) enzymes, particularly tyramine β-monooxygenase (TBM), which catalyzes oxygen activation and selective C–H bond hydroxylation.His work integrates high-resolution spectroscopy, transient kinetics, and protein biochemistry to probe the formation, structure, and reactivity of short-lived copper-oxygen intermediates. As part of this effort, he performs cell culture and protein purification, enabling the isolation of active, recombinant copper enzymes for detailed spectroscopic and mechanistic studies. Through a multi-spectroscopic approach, primarily UV-Vis, CD, MCD, EXAFS, EPR, resonance Raman, and stopped-flow absorption spectroscopy, he investigates how the geometric and electronic structure of the active sites modulate reactivity and enable O₂ activation without direct Cu–Cu coupling.
Dr. Patra earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata, under the supervision of Prof. Abhishek Dey, where he developed iron porphyrin-based electrocatalysts for the selective reduction of CO₂. His research emphasized mechanistic analysis using electrochemical methods coupled with in situ spectro-electrochemistry to monitor redox transitions and catalytic intermediates under applied potentials. These studies were complemented by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which he used to model key intermediates, protonation pathways, and redox energetics, thereby providing molecular-level insight into how second-sphere interactions and ligand environments influence catalytic behaviour. His integrative experimental–computational approach provided a detailed understanding of structure-function relationships in multi-electron CO₂ reduction.
The mechanistic perspective and technical skillset developed during his doctoral work, particularly in combining spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and computation, now form the foundation of his postdoctoral research. His current studies extend those same principles to more complex metalloenzyme systems, addressing similar core questions about the role of electronic structure, metal-ligand coordination, and local environment in controlling reactivity. His long-term goal is to bridge synthetic and biological catalysis through a mechanistic lens, contributing to the development of efficient, selective systems for small-molecule activation and sustainable energy transformations.
Dr. Patra received his M.Sc. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati after qualifying the national IIT-JAM examination and completed his B.Sc. in Chemistry at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. Over the course of his academic training, he has cultivated a multidisciplinary research identity that spans coordination chemistry, spectroscopy, electrochemical catalysis, and theoretical modelling. His scientific vision centres on using spectroscopic and computational insight to guide the rational design of catalysts for environmentally relevant redox chemistry. -
Jonathan Payne
Dorrell William Kirby Professor, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy goal in research is to understand the interaction between environmental change and biological evolution using fossils and the sedimentary rock record. How does environmental change influence evolutionary and ecological processes? And conversely, how do evolutionary and ecological changes affect the physical environment? I work primarily on the marine fossil record over the past 550 million years.
-
Nolan Peard
Ph.D. Student in Applied Physics, admitted Autumn 2020
BioNolan is currently a PhD candidate in the Schleier-Smith Lab in the Department of Physics. He specializes in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics, chemical physics, and materials science with a developing interest in bioengineering. Beyond his research career, Nolan is an accomplished cellist and is interested in climbing, reading, and nature.
-
Kabir Peay
Senior Associate Dean for Education, Director of the Earth Systems Program, Professor of Biology, of Earth System Science and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab studies the ecological processes that structure natural communities and the links between community structure and the cycling of nutrients and energy through ecosystems. We focus primarily on fungi, as these organisms are incredibly diverse and are the primary agents of carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. By working across multiple scales we hope to build a 'roots-to-biomes' understanding of plant-microbe symbiosis.
-
Robert Pecora
Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe development of the basic principles behind the dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique and its application to a wide variety of liquid systems is one of Pecora's outstanding contributions to physical chemistry. DLS is now an indispensable tool in the repertoire of polymer, colloid and biophysical chemists. It is generally accepted to be one of the best methods for measuring the mutual diffusion coefficients and, in dilute systems, the hydrodynamic sizes of polymers and particulates in solution or suspension. It is widely used, among other things, for studying size distributions of polymer and colloid dispersions; for testing theories of polymer dynamics in dilute and concentrated systems; and for studying interactions between macromolecules and colloidal particles in liquid dispersions. The basic work that established the foundation of this technique was done in the 1960s. Pecora has revisited this area over the years-formulating theories, for instance, of scattering from hollow spheres, large cylindrically symmetric molecules and wormlike chains.
An experimental program began in the early seventies resulted in a now classic series of studies on the rotational dynamics of small molecules in liquids. This work, utilizing mainly depolarized DLS and carbon 13 nuclear magnetic relaxation, has had a wide impact in the area of liquid state dynamics.
It was also during this period that the theoretical foundation for the fluorescence correlation spectroscopy technique (FCS) was formulated. Because of recent advances in equipment and materials, this technique has recently been revived and is now a powerful tool in biophysics.
The experimental and theoretical techniques developed for the study of the dynamics of relatively simple small molecule liquids have been used to investigate more complex systems such as the rotation of small molecule solvents in glassy and amorphous polymers. The resonance- enhanced depolarized light scattering technique was also developed in this period.
Extensive studies using depolarized dynamic light scattering (using the Fabry-Perot interferometer) as well as photon correlation spectroscopy, NMR, FCS and small angle X-ray scattering to the dynamics of oligonucleotides have determined the hydrodynamic diameter of DNA and the internal bending angles of the bases. They also provided support for relations relating hydrodynamic parameters to molecular dimensions for short rodlike molecules and “polyelectrolyte effects” on the translational and rotational motions of these highly charged molecules.
A major area of experimental and theoretical study has been the study of the dynamics of rigid and semirigid rodlike polymers in both dilute and semidilute dispersions. The work on translation and rotation of poly (-benzyl-L-glutamate) in semidilute solution is a foremost early work in this area.
The Pecora group has synthesized and studied the dynamics of model
rigid rod/sphere composite liquids. Studies of the translation of dilute spheres through solutions of the rods as functions of the rod and sphere sizes and the rod concentrations have provided the stimulus for more experiment and theoretical work in this area. Transient electric birefringence decay studies of the rotation of dilute rigid rod polymers in suspensions of comparably sized spherical particles have revealed scaling laws for the rod rotation.
A unique feature of part of this work on rigid and semirigid rodlike polymers is the utilization of genetic engineering techniques to construct a monodisperse, homologous series of DNA restriction fragments. These biologically-produced fragments have served as well-characterized model macromolecules for solution studies of the dynamics of semirigid rodlike polymers.
The well-regarded book of Pecora and Berne on dynamic light scattering, first published in 1976, has become a major reference work. It is now a Dover paperback. -
Deshan Perera
Postdoctoral Scholar, Biology
BioI am a Stanford Data Science Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, supervised by Prof. Hunter Fraser. My research focuses on evolutionary dynamics and the development of high-performance computational tools to analyze complex biological systems. I earned my Ph.D. in Bioinformatics from the University of Calgary, Canada, where I investigated within-host evolution in pathogen genomics and cancer. Originally from Sri Lanka, I hold a First Class B.Sc. (Hons) in Biology from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. I am passionate about advancing computational biology through the design and implementation of scalable software solutions that leverage GPU, CPU, and SSD architectures for large-scale genomic and evolutionary analysis.
-
Vahe Petrosian
Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics
BioHow do things evolve in the universe? How are particles accelerated in the universe?
Professor Petrosian’s research covers many topics in the broad area of theoretical astrophysics and cosmology, with a strong focus on high-energy astrophysical processes.
Cosmological studies deal with global properties of the universe, where the main focus is the understanding of the evolution of the universe at high redshifts, through studies of the evolutions of population of sources such as galaxies and quasars or active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, using new statistical techniques developed in collaboration with Prof. B. Efron of the Department of Statistics. Another area of research is the use of gravitational lensing in measuring mass in the universe.
High-energy astrophysics research involves interpretation of non-thermal astronomical sources where particles are accelerated to very high energies and emit various kinds of radiation. These processes occur on many scales and in all sorts of objects: in the magnetosphere of planets, in the interplanetary space, during solar and stellar flares, in the accretion disks and jets around stellar-size and super-massive black holes, at centers of galaxies, in gamma-ray bursts, in supernovae, and in the intra-cluster medium of clusters of galaxies. Plasma physics processes common in all these sources for acceleration of particles and their radiative signature is the main focus of the research here. -
Dmitri Petrov
Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEvolution of genomes and population genomics of adaptation and variation
-
Oliver Philcox
Assistant Professor of Physics
BioJunior Fellow, Simons Society of Fellows (2022 - 2025)
Ph.D., Princeton University (2022)
M.A. (Cantab.), Cambridge University (2018)
I’m broadly interested in theoretical, statistical, and observational cosmology, particularly as applied to galaxy surveys and the Cosmic Microwave Background. Recently, I have worked on measuring, modeling, and interpreting new and old physics in a range of cosmological datasets, and using them to learn about the early Universe, including inflation. With Mikhail Ivanov and Marko Simonovic, I won the 2024 New Horizons Prize in Physics, for work on the Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure.
I am an assistant professor in the Physics department, affiliated with both the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) and the Leinweber Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stanford (LITP). Please send me an email if you're interested in working with me! -
Sasha Philippov
Associate Professor of Physics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research centers on high-energy astrophysics and numerical simulations of astrophysical plasmas, with a particular focus on the physical processes through which plasmas around compact objects generate multi-messenger signals.
-
Eric Pop
Pease-Ye Professor, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering and of Applied Physics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Pop Lab explores problems at the intersection of nanoelectronics and nanoscale energy conversion. These include fundamental limits of current and heat flow, energy-efficient transistors and memory, and energy harvesting via thermoelectrics. The Pop Lab also works with novel nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes, graphene, BN, MoS2, and their device applications, through an approach that is experimental, computational and highly collaborative.
-
Jonathan Pritchard
Bing Professor of Population Studies, Professor of Genetics and Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe are interested in a broad range of problems at the interface of genomics and evolutionary biology. One current focus of the lab is in understanding how genetic variation impacts gene regulation and complex traits. We also have long-term interests in using genetic data to learn about population structure, history and adaptation, especially in humans.
FOR UP-TO-DATE DETAILS ON MY LAB AND RESEARCH, PLEASE SEE: http://pritchardlab.stanford.edu -
Xiaoliang Qi
Professor of Physics
BioMy current research interest is the interplay of quantum entanglement, quantum gravity and quantum chaos. The characterization of quantum information and quantum entanglement has provided novel understanding to space-time geometry, and relate the dynamics of chaotic many-body systems to the dynamics of space-time, i.e. quantum gravity theory. Based on recent progress in holographic duality (also known as AdS/CFT), my goal is to use tools such as tensor networks and solvable models to provide more microscopic understanding to the emergent space-time geometry from quantum states and quantum dynamics.
I am also interested in topological states and topological phenomena in condensed matter systems.
You can find my recent research topics in some talks online:
http://online.kitp.ucsb.edu/online/chord18/opgrowth/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__9VBaLfC6Y&t=42s
http://online.kitp.ucsb.edu/online/qinfo_c17/qi/ -
Stephen Quake
Lee Otterson Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor of Bioengineering, of Applied Physics and, by courtesy, of Physics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSingle molecule biophysics, precision force measurement, micro and nano fabrication with soft materials, integrated microfluidics and large scale biological automation.
-
Krishna Raghavan
Ph.D. Student in Chemistry, admitted Autumn 2024
BioKrishna is originally from the Detroit area of Michigan, and completed his undergraduate studies in biological chemistry and chemistry at the University of Chicago. He is currently a second-year PhD student concentrating in biophysical chemistry, in the lab of Prof. Bianxiao Cui.
-
Srinivas Raghu
Professor of Physics
BioI am interested in the emergent behavior of quantum condensed matter systems. Some recent research topics include non-Fermi liquids, quantum criticality, statistical mechanics of strongly interacting and disordered quantum systems, physics of the half-filled Landau level, quantum Hall to insulator transitions, superconductor-metal-insulator transitions, and the phenomenology of quantum materials.
Past contributions that I'm particularly proud of include the co-founding of the subject of topological photonics (with Duncan Haldane), scaling theories of non-Fermi liquid metals (with Shamit Kachru and Gonzalo Torroba), Euclidean lattice descriptions of Chern-Simons matter theories and their dualities in 2+1 dimensions (with Jing-Yuan Chen and Jun Ho Son), and 'dual' perspectives of quantum Hall transitions (with Prashant Kumar and Michael Mulligan). -
Aaditya Ramdas
Affiliate, Statistics
BioAaditya Ramdas is an Associate Professor (with tenure) in the Department of Statistics. He was a postdoc at UC Berkeley (2015–2018) mentored by Michael Jordan and Martin Wainwright, and obtained his PhD at Carnegie Mellon University (2010–2015) under Aarti Singh and Larry Wasserman, receiving the Umesh K. Gavaskar Memorial Thesis Award. His undergraduate degree was in Computer Science from IIT Bombay (2005-09, All India Rank 47), from whom he recently received a Young Alumnus Achiever Award (2026).
His work has been recognized by the Presidential Early Career Award (PECASE), the highest distinction bestowed by the US government to young scientists. He has also received a Kavli fellowship from the National Academy of Sciences, a Sloan fellowship in Mathematics, the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, the Emerging Leader Award from COPSS (Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies), early career awards from the Bernoulli Society and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and faculty research awards from Adobe and Google. He was recently elected Fellow of the IMS, was awarded Statistician of the Year 2025 by the the American Statistical Associaton Pittsburgh Chapter. He was the program chair of AISTATS 2026, and the general chair of AISTATS 2027.
He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, about half at top journals like The Annals of Statistics, Biometrika, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory and PNAS, including prestigious discussion papers at the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society and Journal of the American Statistical Association, and about half at the top AI conferences like NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, UAI and AISTATS, including over a dozen orals/spotlights. He has given several keynote talks invited tutorials.
Aaditya's research in mathematical statistics and learning has an eye towards designing algorithms that both have strong theoretical guarantees and also work well in practice. His main interests include post-selection inference (multiple testing, simultaneous inference), game-theoretic statistics (e-values, confidence sequences) and predictive uncertainty quantification (conformal prediction, calibration).
