Thomas Perkins
LeBlanc
I received my Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2018 where I studied the mechanical properties of bacterial effector proteins. Currently, my project focuses on the characterization of human cardiac myosin by AFM in collaboration with the Leinwand lab. I'm also investigating the use of bacterial adhesins as high-force protein handles for site-specific force spectroscopy.
Walder
Robert earned his Ph.D degree in Physics from the University of California, Irvine. His Ph.D. subject in soft matter physics was Rheology and Microrheology of Materials at the Air-Water Interface. He was awarded a National Research Council Fellowship.
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public.