Michael Zwolak is the Group Leader of Biophysical and Biomedical Measurement at NIST. He earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Caltech, focusing on using tensor networks to simulate many-body quantum systems, and holds B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Philosophy from Virginia Tech. After serving as a Feynman Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory and as a faculty member in the Department of Physics at Oregon State University, he joined the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Within the Biophysical and Biomedical Measurement Group, he leads efforts in precision measurement and simulation across various time and length scales of the biological hierarchy to uncover fundamental principles of molecular physiology.
Michael has made groundbreaking contributions to the theory of molecular and nanofluidic devices, self-assembly, and biomolecular metrology. This includes laying the theoretical groundwork for rapid DNA sequencing using electronic sensors embedded in fluidic devices and developing a scaling theory to capture the quantitative behavior of ionic transport in all-atom molecular dynamics. His current goal is to redefine biomolecular simulation by creating data-driven approaches alongside scalable, manufacturable sensors that help reveal the engineering principles of biomolecules and molecular design.
Experience
- 2020 – Group Leader, Biophysical and Biomedical Measurement, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- 2018 – 2020 Group Leader, Biophysics, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- 2014 – 2018 Project Leader, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- 2011 – 2014 Assistant Professor of Physics, Oregon State University
- 2008 – 2011 Richard P. Feynman Postdoctoral Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- 2007 – 2008 Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- 2003 – 2007 William A. Fowler Fellow, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Physics Department, Caltech
- 2003 – 2007 NSF Fellow, Physics Department, Caltech