Nano-technologist
Paul Rothemund
Class of 1990
After graduating as Valedictorian from Laconia High School in 1990, Paul Rothemund went on to receive degrees in Biology and Engineering from CalTech. Paul later obtained a Ph.D in Theoretical Computer Science from the University of Southern California. Although his Ph.D is officially in Theoretical Computer Science, some of his papers were purely mathematical and much of the work he did was in DNA Biochemistry, building two dimensional crystals out of DNA in his lab. Paul is currently back at CalTech as a research professor where he oversees a lab of about a half a dozen scientists working on their own Ph.D or post Ph.D training.
Paul has spent 30 years thinking about how DNA and RNA can be used to do things that biology never intended. He began by designing a DNA computer; the idea being that one could write a computer program in a strand of DNA, add some enzymes, and the enzymes would essentially run the computer program written in the DNA strand. DNA computers proved to be possible, but too slow to compete with electronic computers. Instead, for many years, he has focused on how DNA can be used to make nano-sized shapes and patterns, inventing a method for folding DNA into any shape you can think of, calling it DNA origami. You can now design a shape in a computer-aided design program, and it will spit out DNA sequences that you can order from a DNA synthesis company. Adding a little salt water and heat results in 100 billion copies of the shape you want in a single drop of water (each one being about 1/100th the size of a red blood cell). He believes it's a nice method for 3D printing tiny shapes, but DNA is fairly boring from a technological point of view — it doesn't conduct electricity that well, or change light in super interesting ways, or perform interesting chemistry very quickly. So, he uses the DNA origami shapes as templates for arranging other high performance nanoscale materials. Paul’s company is based on the idea that DNA origami, coated with antibodies, can be arranged on computer chips and used to detect and measure the levels of 10,000 different proteins in your blood. So fundamental work on making shapes out of DNA has led eventually to a career in human health in a very roundabout way, Paul says.
Paul's Advice to Current Students
“Watch out for funny things that can happen to you. You can be good or even great at something, and enjoy it very much, but it doesn't mean you should do it for a career. For example, I picked a career based on my passion for science. I have had some success and had the privilege of meeting and spending time with the most wonderful people whom I now consider family. There is nothing I love more than building intricate systems of molecules, which I got to do early in my career. However, there is a sense in which my career has been too difficult and all-consuming for me and I don't get to do much building myself these days. I am mostly a manager, and spend most of my time making sure that funding is in place for my students and our laboratory. While many people make lives as academic scientists, I find it too complex, and mostly incompatible with family life. Because of the complexities, I started a family late – many friends of mine have forgone families for their scientific careers. At 50, I am now working on winding down my academic lab and entering industrial science. Industry brings its own set of problems, but it is a new adventure and I've started a company with one of my former students. While this company wouldn't have been possible without the academic career I've had, I realize that I've been a bit stuck for 15 years, too afraid to make a change. In retrospect, I think I would have made a change sooner, and in the future I'll try to make changes faster when things don't feel right. In the end, my goal is to turn my passion from a career back into a hobby.”
Activities at LHS:
Math Team (State Champion)
Key Club
Granite State Challenge (Winners)