Jonathan Selinger
Biography
Jonathan Selinger is Professor of Physics and Ohio Eminent Scholar at Kent State's Liquid Crystal Institute. His research focuses on the theory of liquid crystals, nanoparticle suspensions, and related topics in soft materials, and seeks to make connections between fundamental statistical mechanics and technological applications.
Selinger studied physics at Harvard University, receiving his A.B. in 1983 and Ph.D. in 1989. He then did postdoctoral research in Los Angeles, with positions at the UCLA Department of Physics and Caltech Department of Chemical Engineering. In 1992 he moved to the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, where he worked as a Research Physicist in the Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering. In 2005 he came to his current position at Kent State. In addition to these research and teaching positions, he has also served as Associate Editor of Physical Review E, responsible for the liquid-crystal section of the journal.
Professional Positions
- Kent State University
Professor of Physics, 2017-present
Professor of Chemical Physics, 2005-2017
Ohio Eminent Scholar in Theoretical Liquid Crystal Physics, 2005-present - Naval Research Laboratory, Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering
Deputy Head, Laboratory for Biosensors and Biomaterials, 2004-2005
Research Physicist, 1993-2005
National Research Council Research Associate, 1993
Office of Naval Technology Postdoctoral Fellow, 1992-93 - University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Physics
Assistant Research Physicist and Adjunct Assistant Professor, 1989-92 - California Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering
Visiting Research Associate, 1991-92 (joint appointment with UCLA) - Harvard University, Department of Physics
Graduate Research Assistant and Teaching Fellow, 1983-89
Other Professional Activities
- International Liquid Crystal Society
Treasurer, 2016-present; member of Board of Directors, 2006-2012 - Weizmann Institute of Science
Joseph Meyerhoff Visiting Professor, Department of Physics of Complex Systems, 2026 - Tel Aviv University
Distinguished Scholar, Mortimer and Raymond Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies, 2022 - International Institute of Physics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
Organizer of research program on “Geometry of Soft Matter,” 2018 - Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Organizer of research program on “Geometry, elasticity, fluctuations, and order in 2D soft matter,” 2016 - Kent State University Faculty Senate
Senator, 2007-2008, 2010-2013 - Physical Review E
Associate Editor, 2003-2009 - Sigma Xi, Naval Research Laboratory-Edison Chapter
President, 2000-2001; Vice President, 1999-2000; Treasurer, 1998-99
Education
M.A. in Physics, Harvard University, 1985
B.A. in Physics, Harvard University, 1983