Jason Slinker

Dr. Jason Slinker is an experimental condensed matter physicist specializing in optoelectronics and bioinspired electronics. He earned his B.S. from Southern Nazarene University (Bethany, OK), triple majoring in Physics, Chemistry, and Math. He completed M.S. and PhD in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University, and performed postdoctoral study in biological electronics at the California Institute of Technology. He has published approximately 50 peer-reviewed publications, with his work cited over 4,000 times. His research efforts have been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Naval Research, the National Institutes of Health, and industrial subcontracts, together totaling over $1.4M. In 2014, he received the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award from the University of Texas System Board of Regents. He has graduated five PhD students to date and is currently supervising five PhD candidates, including one supported by a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. In 2016, the Texas Section American Physical Society presented Dr. Slinker and his PhD student Dr. Marc McWilliams with the Hyer Award for their synergistic work in developing sensors for anticancer drug activity.

At UT Dallas, Dr. Slinker revived a dormant SPS chapter and established a consistent, award-winning group serving to enhance the engagement of students in physics and spreading its joy to the broader community. In guiding this group to six consecutive SPS chapter distinctions, his students have won multiple awards for physics research and outreach. In October 2017, Dr. Slinker served as the chair of the Texas Section Joint Meeting of APS, AAPT, and SPS, hosted at UT Dallas. He currently serves as a PI on a NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates site at UT Dallas in Physics. SPS Chapter activities under his mentorship have ranged from rocket competitions with engineers, telescope events covered by local news stations, physics-themed escape rooms, demonstrations in the Dallas Arboretum, and successful grant writing.