Meet Jeffrey E. Dick

Jeffrey leads an electrochemistry group investigating the mechanisms of interfacial charge transfer. Its research includes advancing chemical imaging through electrochemiluminescence microscopy, uncovering the chemistry of microdroplets and micro- and nanofilms, and investigating aqueous batteries.

“From a measurement science standpoint, I am always jazzed about measuring the seemingly immeasurable,” he says. Current questions include whether adsorbed microdroplets are mobile at the nanoscale and whether enzymatic reactions conducted in beakers accurately represent those occurring inside cells. His group is also using electro-precipitation to “fossilize” highly reactive intermediates, such as the sulfate radical anion, so they can be used when and where they are needed.

Jeffrey believes analytical scientists should be more adventurous in deciding what to measure. “As a community, I feel we often try to measure the same sorts of physicochemical things,” he says. “It is our duty to push the science of measurement forward, and that requires the development of new measurement modalities – or perhaps a cute twist on an old measurement.”

A chance encounter helped determine Jeffrey’s career path. Although Allen Bard had initially said he was no longer accepting graduate students, Jeffrey visited UT Austin and told him, “The only way I would come to UT Austin is if I could work for him.” To his surprise, Bard agreed. Jeffrey subsequently trained in Bard’s laboratory before joining the faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill and later Purdue. 

His father, a journalist, also instilled a love of writing that continues to shape his work. “I loved to experiment with the written word and learned from an early age the joys of creative writing,” he says. “I think that skill has helped me become a better researcher, especially when communicating my science.”