Carson J. Bruns

Carson Bruns is a scientist, writer, and artist. He grew up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Loveland, Colorado before attending Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he concentrated on chemistry, religion, and mathematics. After receiving a BA in 2008, Bruns attended graduate school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and got his PhD in Organic Chemistry in 2013 under the supervision of Professors J. Fraser Stoddart and Samuel I. Stupp.

Bruns spent three years as a Miller Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was hosted by Matt Francis in the College of Chemistry. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering with the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He directs the Laboratory for Emergent Nanomaterials.

His research interests span organic, inorganic, polymer, and biochemistry, as well as materials science and engineering. The formats Bruns uses for his artwork embrace digital/computer art, illustration, painting, photography, and body art.

Bruns has co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications, including the celebrated book The Nature of the Mechanical Bond: From Molecules to Machines, with Nobel Laureate J. Fraser Stoddart. His work has been featured in Inked Magazine, Chemical and Engineering News and Colorado Public Radio.