Ryan D. Pensack

Ryan D. Pensack serves as Principal Research Scholar at Boise State University's Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, leading the Ultrafast Spectroscopy Team and directing the Ultrafast Laser Complex since joining in October 2017 as a Staff Scientist within the Nanoscale Materials and Device group.

His academic trajectory includes postdoctoral research at Princeton University (2015-2017) and the University of Toronto (2012-2015), both under Prof. Gregory Scholes' supervision.

Research centers on ultrafast and multidimensional optical spectroscopy techniques to investigate molecular and semiconductor exciton dynamics, with applied focus on nanoscale materials development for next-generation energy conversion systems and quantum computing architectures. This work operates through the Quantum DNA Research Group, examining quantum phenomena in bio-inspired materials frameworks.

Operational responsibilities include oversight of the Ultrafast Laser Complex facility and leadership of spectroscopy research teams, directly supporting Boise State's materials science engineering initiatives in advanced photonics and nanotechnology.