Artwork by
Dennis Murphy

For the students, by the students

Professor Profiles: Who's Who and New at Mu?
By Michelle Chadwick, Corner Post staff

Name: John A. Viator

Area of Expertise:
Biomedical Optics, Laser-Tissue Interactions

Birth Date:
August 24, 1964

Hometown:
Fairbanks, AK

Favorite Color:
532-nanometer green

What degrees do you have and where did you receive them?
I have a BS in physics from the University of Washington in Seattle, an MS in mathematics from the University of Oregon, an MS in applied physics and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Oregon Health and Science University.

What do you think of Mizzou so far?
I have an overwhelmingly positive impression of Mizzou. Not only do I find its research exceptional, the people are extremely friendly. There really is a strong sense of community that I haven’t seen at other universities. And I love how the university is intimately tied to the city of Columbia. If I were grading Mizzou I’d give it an A+

What are your expectations for the future?
I’d like to build a strong research team composed of undergraduate, graduate, and post doctoral scientists that is highly interdisciplinary and can approach biomedical problems from unconventional viewpoints. I’d like to bring people together from medicine, agriculture, physical and life science, engineering, nursing, veterinary medicine, and elsewhere so that we can learn from each other and push back the frontier of human knowledge. It’s a tall order, but a worthy one.

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