Ryan Pensack

Bio

Dr. Ryan Pensack joined the Micron School of Materials Science & Engineering at Boise State University in October 2017 as a Staff Scientist working in the Nanoscale Materials and Device group with Profs. Bill Knowlton and Bernard Yurke. His previous work includes an appointment as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the research group of Prof. Gregory Scholes at Princeton University from 2015-2017 and as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Greg’s group at the University of Toronto from 2012-2015. His primary areas of expertise and research interests include ultrafast and multidimensional optical spectroscopy, the structure and dynamics of molecular and semiconductor excitons, and nanoscale materials for energy and computing applications.

Education

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University (2012)

Dissertation: Measuring the Barrier to Charge Transfer State Dissociation in Organic Photovoltaic Materials with Ultrafast Vibrational Spectroscopy

• B.A. in Chemistry (summa cum laude), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey–Newark (2006)

Selected Publications

Boise State University

• Mass, O.A., Watt, D., Patten, L.K., Pensack, R.D., Lee, J., Turner, D.B., Yurke, B., and Knowlton, W.B. “Exciton Delocalization in a Fully Synthetic DNA-Templated Bacteriochlorin Dimer” Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2023, 25, 28437–28451.
• Huff, J.S., Duncan, K.M., van Galen, C.J., Barclay, M.S., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., Davis, P.H., Turner, D.B., Stanley, R.J., and Pensack, R.D. “High-Sensitivity Electronic Stark Spectrometer Featuring a Laser-Driven Light Source” Rev. Sci. Instrum. 2023, 94, 094103.
• Mathur, D., Díaz, S.A., Hildebrandt, N., Pensack, R.D., Yurke, B., Biaggne, A., Li, L., Melinger, J.S., Ancona, M.G., Knowlton, W.B., and Medintz, I.L. “Pursuing Excitonic Energy Transfer with Programmable DNA-based Optical Breadboards” Chem. Soc. Rev. 2023, 52, 7848–7948.
• Duncan, K.M., Byers, H.M., Houdek, M.E., Roy, S.K., Biaggne, A., Patten, L.K., Barclay, M.S., Huff, J.S., Kellis, D.L., Wilson, C.K., Lee, J., Davis, P.H., Mass, O.A., Li, L., Turner, D.B., Hall, J.A., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., and Pensack, R.D. “Electronic Structure and Excited-State Dynamics of DNA-Templated Monomers and Aggregates of Asymmetric Polymethine Dyes” J. Phys. Chem. A 2023, 127, 4901–4918.
• Barclay, M.S., Chowdhury, A.U., Biaggne, A., Huff, J.S., Wright, N.D., Davis, P.H., Li, L., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., Pensack, R.D., and Turner, D.B. “Probing DNA Structural Heterogeneity by Identifying Conformational Subensembles of a Bicovalently Bound Cyanine Dye” J. Chem. Phys. 2023, 158, 035101.
• Wright, N.D., Huff, J.S., Barclay, M.S., Wilson, C.K., Barcenas, G., Duncan, K.M., Ketteridge, M., Obukhova, O.M., Krivoshey, A.I., Tatarets, A.L., Terpetschnig, E.A., Dean, J.C., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., Li, L., Mass, O.A., Davis, P.H., Lee, J., Turner, D.B., and Pensack, R.D. “Intramolecular Charge Transfer and Ultrafast Nonradiative Decay in DNA-Tethered Asymmetric Nitro- and Dimethylamino-Substituted Squaraines” J. Phys. Chem. A 2023, 127, 1141–1157.
• Mass, O.A., Basu, S., Patten, L.K., Terpetschnig, E.A., Krivoshey, A.I., Tatarets, A.L., Pensack, R.D., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., and Lee, J. “Exciton Chirality Inversion in Dye Dimers Templated by DNA Holliday Junction” J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2022, 13, 10688–10696.
• Duncan, K.M., Kellis, D.L., Huff, J.S., Barclay, M.S., Lee, J., Turner, D.B., Davis, P.H., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., and Pensack, R.D. “Symmetry Breaking Charge Transfer in DNA-Templated Perylene Dimer Aggregates” Molecules 2022, 27, 6612.
• Huff, J.S., Díaz, S.A., Barclay, M.S., Chowdhury, A.U., Chiriboga, M., Ellis, G.A., Mathur, D., Patten, L.K., Roy, S., Sup, A., Biaggne, A., Rolzcynski, B.S., Cunningham, P.D., Li, L., Lee, J., Davis, P.H., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., Medintz, I.L., Turner, D.B., Melinger, J.S., and Pensack, R.D. “Tunable Electronic Structure via DNA-Templated Heteroaggregates of Two Distinct Cyanine Dyes” J. Phys. Chem. C 2022, 126, 17164–17175.
• Barclay, M.S., Huff, J.S., Pensack, R.D., Davis, P.H., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., Dean, J.C., Arpin, P.C., and Turner, D.B. “Characterizing Mode Anharmonicity and Huang–Rhys Factors Using Models of Femtosecond Coherence Spectra” J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2022, 13, 5413–5423.
• Barclay, M.S., Wilson, C.K., Roy, S.K., Mass, O.A., Obukhova, O.M., Svoiakov, R.P., Tatarets, A.L., Chowdhury, A.U., Huff, J.S., Turner, D.B., Davis, P.H., Terpetschnig, E.A., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., Lee, J., and Pensack, R.D. “Oblique Packing and Tunable Excitonic Coupling in DNA-Templated Squaraine Rotaxane Dimer Aggregates” ChemPhotoChem 2022, 6, e202200039.
• Chowdhury, A.U., Díaz, S.A., Huff, J.S., Barclay, M.S., Chiriboga, M., Ellis, G.A., Mathur, D., Patten, L.K., Sup, A., Hallstrom, N., Cunningham, P.D., Lee, J., Davis, P.H., Turner, D.B., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., Medintz, I.L., Melinger, J.S., and Pensack, R.D. “Tuning between Quenching and Energy Transfer in DNA-Templated Heterodimer Aggregates” J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2022, 13, 2782–2791.
• Meares, A., Susumu, K., Mathur, D., Lee, S.H., Mass, O.A., Lee, J., Pensack, R.D., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., Melinger, J.S., and Medintz, I.L. “Synthesis of Substituted Cy5 Phosphoramidite Derivatives and Their Incorporation into Oligonucleotides Using Automated DNA Synthesis” ACS Omega 2022, 7, 11002–11016.
• Mass, O.A., Wilson, C.K., Barcenas, G., Terpetschnig, E.A., Obukhova, O.M., Kolosova, O.S., Tatarets, A.L., Li, L., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., Pensack, R.D., and Lee, J. “The Influence of Hydrophobicity on Excitonic Coupling in DNA-Templated Indolenine Squaraine Dye Aggregates” J. Phys. Chem. C 2022, 126, 3475–3488.
• Huff, J.S., Turner, D.B., Mass, O.A., Patten, L.K., Wilson, C.K., Roy, S., Barclay, M.S., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., Davis, P.H., and Pensack, R.D. “Excited-State Lifetimes of DNA-Templated Cyanine Dimer, Trimer, and Tetramer Aggregates: The Role of Exciton Delocalization, Dye Separation, and DNA Heterogeneity” J. Phys. Chem. B 2021, 125, 10240–10259.
• Barcenas, G., Biaggne, A., Mass, O.A., Wilson, C.K., Obukhova, O.M., Kolosova, O.S., Tatarets, A.L., Terpetschnig, E.A., Pensack, R.D., Lee, J., Knowlton, W.B., Yurke, B., and Li, L. “First-Principles Studies of Substituent Effects on Squaraine Dyes” RSC Adv. 2021, 11, 19029–19040.
• Barclay, M.S., Roy, S., Huff, J.S., Mass, O.A., Turner, D.B., Wilson, C.K., Kellis, D.L., Terpetschnig, E.A., Lee, J., Davis, P.H., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., and Pensack, R.D. “Rotaxane Rings Promote Oblique Packing and Extended Excited-State Lifetimes in DNA-Templated Squaraine Dye Aggregates” Commun. Chem. 2021, 4, 19.
• Mass, O.A., Wilson, C.K., Roy, S., Barclay, M.S., Patten, L.K., Terpetschnig, E.A., Lee, J., Pensack, R.D., Yurke, B., and Knowlton, W.B. “Exciton Delocalization in Indolenine Squaraine Aggregates within DNA Holliday Junction Scaffolds” J. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124, 9636–9647.
• Huff, J.S., Davis, P.H., Christy, A., Kellis, D.L., Kandadai, N., Toa, Z.S.D., Scholes, G.D., Yurke, B., Knowlton, W.B., and Pensack, R.D. “DNA-Templated Aggregates of Strongly-Coupled Cyanine Dyes: Nonradiative Decay Governs Exciton Lifetimes” J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2019, 10, 2386–2392.
• Kellis, D.L., Sarter, C., Cannon, B.L., Davis, P.H., Graugnard, E., Lee, J., Pensack, R.D., Kolmar, T., Jäschke, A., Yurke, B., and Knowlton, W.B. “An All-Optical Excitonic Switch Operated in the Liquid and Solid Phases” ACS Nano 2019, 13, 2986–2994.

Princeton University

• Pensack, R.D., Purdum, G.E., Mazza, S.M., Grieco, C., Asbury, J.B., Anthony, J.E., Loo, Y.-L., and Scholes, G.D. “Excited-State Dynamics of 5,14- vs. 6,13-Bis(trialkylsilylethynyl) Substituted Pentacenes: Implications for Singlet Fission” J. Phys. Chem. C 2022, 126, 9784–9793.
• Pensack, R.D., Ashmore, R.J., Paoletta, A.L., and Scholes, G.D. “The Nature of Excimer Formation in Crystalline Pyrene Nanoparticles” J. Phys. Chem. C 2018, 122, 21004–21017.
• Pensack, R.D., Tilley, A.J., Grieco, C., Purdum, G.E., Ostroumov, E.E., Granger, D.B., Oblinsky, D.G., Dean, J.C., Doucette, G.S., Asbury, J.B., Loo, Y.-L., Seferos, D.S., Anthony, J.E., and Scholes, G.D. “Striking the Right Balance of Intermolecular Coupling for High-Efficiency Singlet Fission” Chem. Sci. 2018, 9, 6240–6259.
• Lee, T.S., Lin, Y.-H., Kim, H., Pensack, R.D., Rand, B.P., and Scholes, G.D. “Triplet Energy Transfer Governs the Dissociation of the Correlated Triplet Pair in Exothermic Singlet Fission” J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2018, 9, 4087–4095.
• Dean, J.C., Zhang, R., Hallani, R.K., Pensack. R.D., Sanders, S.N., Oblinsky, D.G., Parkin, S.R., Campos, L.M., Anthony, J.E., and Scholes, G.D. “Photophysical Characterization and Time-Resolved Spectroscopy of a Anthradithiophene Dimer: Exploring the Role of Conformation in Singlet Fission” Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2017, 19, 23162–23175.
• Elkins, M.H., Pensack, R., Proppe, A.H., Voznyy, O., Quan, L.N., Kelley, S.O., Sargent, E.H., and Scholes, G.D. “Biexciton Resonances Reveal Exciton Localization in Stacked Perovskite Quantum Wells” J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2017, 8, 3895–3901.
• Pensack. R.D., Ostroumov, E.E., Tilley, A.J., Mazza, S., Grieco, C., Thorley, K.J., Asbury, J.B., Seferos, D.S., Anthony, J.E., and Scholes, G.D. “Observation of Two Triplet Pair Intermediates in Singlet Exciton Fission” J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2016, 7, 2370–2375.

University of Toronto

• Pensack. R.D., Tilley, A.J., Parkin, S.R., Lee, T.S., Payne, M.M., Gao, D., Jahnke, A.A., Oblinsky, D.G., Li, P.-F., Anthony, J.E., Seferos, D.S., and Scholes, G.D. “Exciton Delocalization Drives Rapid Singlet Fission in Nanoparticles of Acene Derivatives” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 6790–6803.
• Cassette, E., Pensack. R.D., Mahler, B., and Scholes, G.D. “Room-Temperature Exciton Coherence and Dephasing in Two-Dimensional Nanostructures” Nat. Commun. 2015, 6, 6086.
• Tilley, A.J., Pensack, R.D., Lee, T.S., Djukic, B., Scholes, G.D., and Seferos, D.S. “Ultrafast Triplet Formation in Thionated Perylene Diimides” J. Phys. Chem. C 2014, 118, 9996–10004.
• Pensack, R.D., Song, Y., McCormick, T.M., Jahnke, A.A., Hollinger, J., Seferos, D.S., and Scholes, G.D. “Evidence for the Rapid Conversion of Primary Photoexcitations to Triplet States in Seleno- and Telluro- Analogs of Poly(3-hexylthiophene)” J. Phys. Chem. B 2014, 118, 2589–2597.