Evan Nelsen

About Evan Nelsen

I am an engineer, physicist and biophysicist with experience in academic, industrial and national lab research environments. Field Service Engineer at LUMICKS.(July 2019-Present)My position entails doing installations and servicing of our optical tweezers, which are often combined with one or more of several advanced optical microscopy techniques for studying single molecules. This involves frequent troubleshooting and knowledge of optical components, microfluidics, electronics and computer software and hardware. I am the first position hired for operations in the Americas.Previous experience:Ph. D. Graduate Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant at UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Physics and Astronomy (August 2013-July 2019)I started attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in August of 2013. I have completed curriculum in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and in the Biophysics program. I rotated with Dr. Richard Cheney, Dr. Sharon Campbell and finally ended up in the lab of Dr. Richard Superfine. I studied cell mechanics with the use of a novel instrument that combines atomic force microscope mechanical measurements of living cells with advanced fluorescent microscopy techniques, primarily light sheet microscopy and phagocytosis. I was a Teaching Assistant for two semesters at UNC-Chapel Hill in the physics department where I taught physics lab (Mechanics). I joined Engineering World Health in Nicaragua during the Summer of 2013 as a Student Intern to learn how to fix broken equipment and apply the skills learned to help a local public hospital (Managua, Nicaragua).I did a six month (June 2012-Dec 2012) internship at General Motors Electrochemical Energy Research Laboratory in Honeoye Falls, NY researching hydrogen fuel cells. As part of that Department of Energy collaboration, several trips to NIST Center for Neutron Research in Gaithersburg, MD were made to use their neutron imaging for studying water formation inside the fuel cell at various conditions for the purpose of modeling the process.I have a Bachelors of Science in physics and mathematics from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. While there, I did research in computational electrostatics under Dr. Shubho Banerjee. A Research Experience for Undergraduates at Hope College during the summer of 2011 in wet lab fabrication and catalytic characterization of Ni-Cu thin films with Dr. Jennifer Hampton.Other jobs include: working for a housing contractor, Skate Guard and Lifeguard. I credit my experience with lifeguarding for my motivation to complete a Ph.D.

Experience

1. Technical Service and Applications Support Engineer (Ii)

   Lumicks

   Sep 2024 — Present · NC, US

Education

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Physics and Biophysics

  2013 — 2019

• Rhodes College

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Physics and Mathematics

  2008 — 2012