| University of Rochester (Rochester, NY) | B.S. | 1989 | Chemistry |
| University of Rochester (Rochester, NY) | B.A. | 1989 | Physics |
| California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA) | Ph.D. | 1996 | Chemistry |
John Aaron Marohn was born in Buffalo, NY, in 1967. Growing up in Kenmore, NY, he attended St. John the Baptist grammar school, became fascinated with mathematics and chemistry at Kenmore West Senior High School, and spent a lot of time with friends outdoors while earning the rank of Eagle Scout in Boy Scout Troop 104.
He attended college at the University of Rochester. In four years John earned undergraduate degrees in both chemistry (magna cum laude with highest distinction) and physics (magna cum laude) while taking eight semesters of mathematics and somehow learning to play the banjo. He carried out research with George McLendon, studying electron transfer in proteins and charge dynamics in inorganic quantum dots.
John pursued graduate study at the California Institute of Technology, doing Ph.D. research with Daniel Weitekamp. He used radiofrequency gradients to achieve record-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of solids and co-invented and demonstrated a new physical effect for optically detecting nuclear magnetic resonance in III-V inorganic semiconductor devices.
While a graduate student John became interested in the idea of detecting magnetic resonance mechanically after attending a conference talk by John Sidles of the University of Washington in which he proposed the idea. He carried out postdoctoral work in mechanically-detected magnetic resonance with Doran Smith of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Raul Fainchtein of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and Lee Harrell of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
John joined the department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University in 1999 as an Assistant Professor. He is now a full Professor, a member of the Cornell Center for Materials Research, and a member of the graduate field of Materials Science and Engineering. John has been Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on grants from NIH, NSF, and ARO. He has supervised the research of over 25 undergraduates and 30 former and 7 current Ph.D. students. M.S. students, and postdocs.
His research program at Cornell has two general goals. The first is developing new approaches for imaging single molecules. He is absolutely fascinated by the idea of collecting atomically resolved images of individual biomacromolecules using magnetic resonance. In support of this goal he created an international “nano-MRI” conference and, while on sabbatic leave in AY 2012-2013, learned cryo-electron microscopy and molecular biology at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA.
The second goal of his team’s research is understanding circuits and solar cells made from plastics and organic/inorganic hybrid materials. Here his team uses custom-built scanned probe microscopes to record nanometer resolution maps of electrostatic potential, capacitance, conductivity, and electric field fluctuations in working semiconductor devices.
John has created a public research notebook here that he posts to sporadically.
When away from lab, John enjoys cooking, playing music with friends, and spending time with his family.