Theodore Goodson III (born April 5, 1969) is an American chemist who is the Richard Barry Bernstein Professor of Chemistry at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He studies the non-linear optical properties of novel organic materials. He was elected fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

in 2012 and the

American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) is a non-profit organization founded in 1991, and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It represents 50,000 medical and Biomedical engineering, biomedical engineers, and academic i ...

in 2021. As of 2025, he became a

co-editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

of the ''

Annual Review of Physical Chemistry ''Annual Review of Physical Chemistry'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Annual Reviews. It covers all topics pertaining to physical chemistry. The editors are Todd J. Martínez (Stanford University) and Anne McCoy (Universi ...

''.

Early life and education

Goodson completed his undergraduate studies at

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

, a liberal arts college in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He moved to the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

for graduate studies, where he majored in chemistry. His research considered the non-linear optical properties of organic polymers. He worked in both the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

as a postdoctoral scholar.

Research and career

In 1998, Goodson joined the faculty at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. He moved to the

as a professor of chemistry in 2004. He demonstrated that ultrafast laser spectroscopy could be used to better understand materials for solar energy. In particular, he was building highly branched macromolecules. Whilst studying these macromolecules, Goodson and his co-worker Guo noticed that a hyperbranched phthalocyanine compound exhibited large and delocalized polarization. When voltages were applied to these phthalocyanines, charge carriers hopped around the structure. These phthalocyanines had high dielectric constants, which indicated that they would be better suited as the dielectric medium inside capacitors. In 2010, he became chief science officer for Wolverine Energy Solutions & Technology. The spin-out company uses organic energy storage materials to make capacitors. Starting in 2006, Goodson published research on entangled two-photon absorption (E2PA). The 2006 paper reported that entangled photons produced through spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) possessed a 10³¹ times higher excitation rate as compared to the corresponding classical TPA process in a dendrimer material. A subsequent publication reported 10 orders of magnitude enhancement in a variety of small molecules. In addition to these two reports, Goodson has published over 15 letters/articles (not including reviews) claiming to measure and utilize E2PA. These reports have been disputed by academics.

Awards and honors

* 2024 Robert Holland Jr. Award (inaugural awardee) * 2024 Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry (ACS) * 2021-2022 Hagler Fellow * 2011 Percy L. Julian Award * 2012 Elected Fellow of the

* 2012

Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award * 2012

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

Lloyd Ferguson Distinguished Lecturer * 2013 Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer * 2014

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

Fellow from the Physical Chemistry Division * 2021 Elected to the

Selected publications

* * *

Personal life

Goodson is married to physician Stephanie Goodson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodson, Theodore III American chemists University of Michigan faculty Wabash College alumni University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering 1969 births Living people Annual Reviews (publisher) editors