Dr. McDonald earned his B.A. in Chemistry from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2009, and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 2015. He went on to join the Nano-Optics division of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow where he used an interferometric imaging technique to collect real-time videos of single protein molecules as they were secreted by human white blood cells.
Dr. McDonald joined the Milligan College faculty as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in August 2018, where he teaches General Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, and Science in Your World. His Mentored Research program is broadly organized around the central principle of “survivalist chemistry” which seeks to answer the question “can I use my knowledge of chemistry to facilitate, or even enhance, my chances of survival in a dire situation?”
His wife Kristi is an Acquisitions Editor and Homeschooling Mom to their three mischievous daughters: Rosalyn, Esther, and Hazel. The McDonalds enjoy being in nature, reading books, spending time with friends, and taking road trips.
Selected Publications
- P. McDonald, A. Gemeinhardt, K. König, M. Piliarik, S. Schafer, S. Völkl, M. Aigner, A. Mackensen, V. Sandoghdar, Visualizing Single-Cell Secretion Dynamics with Single-Protein Sensitivity, Nano Letters, 2018, 18, 513.
- P. McDonald, R. Chatterjee, J. Si, B. Janko, M. Kuno, Dimensional crossover in semiconductor nanostructures, Nature Communications, 2016, 7, 12726.
- P. McDonald, A. Eltom, F. Vietmeyer, J. Thapa, Yurii Morozov, Denis A. Sokolov, Jose H. Hodak, K. Vinodgopal, P. V. Kamat, M. Kuno, Direct observation of spatially heterogeneous single layer graphene oxide reduction kinetics, Nano Letters, 2013, 13, 5777.
- P. McDonald, F. Vietmeyer, D. Aleksiuk, M. Kuno, Supercontinuum spatial modulation spectroscopy: Detection and noise limitations, Review of Scientific Instruments. 2013, 84, 113104.
- P. McDonald, F. Vietmeyer, M. Kuno, Direct measurement of single CdSe nanowire extinction polarization anisotropies, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2012, 3, 2215.