Dr. Paul H. Davis serves as an Assistant Dean of Research in the College of Engineering and a Principal Research Scholar in the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering at Boise State. Dr. Davis joined the Boise State University in May of 2012. Prior to coming to BSU, Paul held positions as a Senior Scientist at Boise Technology, Inc. (2008-2012), an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA (2004-2008), and a postdoctoral teaching and research fellow at Santa Clara University (2002-2004). As a result, Paul brings extensive research experience spanning physics, chemistry, and materials science to the school as he oversees the Surface Science Lab (SSL) at Boise State. In particular, he combines expertise in ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy (including the surface specific technique of vibrational sum frequency generation, or VSFG), experience in the synthesis, characterization, and utilization of nanomaterials, and familiarity with numerous surface science tools, including AFM and SEM. Dr. Davis enjoys working across disciplines with the numerous faculty, staff, and students that use the Surface Science Laboratory facilities to advance their research.

Educational Background

Paul earned a Ph.D. in chemical physics under the direction of Prof. Michael D. Fayer at Stanford University, where he utilized numerous ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopic techniques including infrared pump-probe, transient grating, and vibrational echo spectroscopy to study chemical structure and dynamics in a variety of condensed phase systems. As a postdoctoral fellow at Santa Clara University, he managed an active undergraduate research group carrying out quantum yield measurements to study photoisomerization of iphenylbutadiene (DPB), a model compound for the vision chromophore retinal.