David Hoogerheide does neutron scattering for himself and others

“What can physicists do? ” is an interview series that profiles physicists who opted for careers outside of academia.

What is your research area?

Biophysics. For my PhD research, I characterized the noise in solid-state nanopores for DNA sequencing applications.

My interest now is in protein–lipid interactions. I’m working to provide tools to enable researchers to discover peptides that target cellular membranes. We want to see if we can use AI and autonomous neutron reflectometry experiments to create a map between the peptide sequence and lipid membrane activity.

How did you land at NIST?

I came in 2013 as a postdoc that was jointly funded by NIST and NIH. The pay was better than most postdocs; it was like having a real job.

My spouse is also a physicist and was also a postdoc at NIST. We felt that the rhythms of a government job were well suited to the needs of our young family. When the opportunity came for us to stay as staff scientists, we jumped at the chance.

How is working in a national lab similar to and different from academia?

It’s like academia in that I have ideas, I mentor postdocs, and I occasionally teach in a neutron scattering summer school. I have collaborations with beamline users, and I do research in my own right.

But it’s also different. As an instrument scientist, my primary role is to serve the scientific community as an expert on the highest-flux neutron reflectometer in the world. Neutron reflectometry can probe multilayered thin films at interfaces. Applications span hard and soft condensed matter, including magnetic materials, polymer films, electrochemically active surfaces, and biological interfaces. I train users and help them develop experiments, specifically with biomaterials like lipids and proteins.

What do you like about working at NIST?

I enjoy the stability, which helps in thinking long term about research directions. I also like the exposure to a wide variety of research areas. And, through users, I enjoy having a foot in the academic world and a foot in the industrial world.

What new skills have you needed?

To be successful, you have to collaborate with a lot of teams and learn to navigate a large organization. At the same time, you have to be able to move projects forward both on the big-picture level and on the level of details.