Popular Searches

Meet Christina Othon

  • Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • M.S., University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • B.S., University of Iowa

Born and raised in Illinois, I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. I went to graduate school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln earning a Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics. After that, I conducted research at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. on 3D tissue printing for regenerative medicine, and at Caltech investigating protein hydration dynamics, before beginning my own academic research career and teaching. My research now focuses on how liquid dynamics can modify and regulate biological processes. I have had a very diverse career that allowed me to work closely with researchers in other disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and medicine. This experience has informed my teaching and mentoring of undergraduate research students. I aim to demonstrate to students in other majors, how physics can inform topics in their own disciplines.


Icon for: What is your teaching philosophy in 8 words or fewer? 
Student centered learning that inspires student's goals.

What is your teaching philosophy in 8 words or fewer?

Student centered learning that inspires student’s goals.

Icon for: What is something your students would be surprised to learn about you?
That I believe in extra-terrestrial life.

What is something your students would be surprised to learn about you?

That I believe in extra-terrestrial life.

Icon for: What is something you've experienced that makes Ripon College special? 
The community is small, but also very friendly.

What is something you’ve experienced that makes Ripon College special? 

The community is small, but also very friendly.



Recent News Updates

Emily Tetzlaff '20

We’re still here: Emily Tetzlaff ’20

In the fall, Emily Tetzlaff ’20 of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, will be attending Pacific University to pursue a doctor of optometry degree. At Ripon, she is […]

Julia Goeks '21, left, and Christina Othon

Work by Christina Othon, Julia Goeks ’21 highlighted in several presentations

A paper about small biopreservative sugars by Christina Othon, associate professor of physics, Julia Goeks ’21 of Lake Forest, Illinois, and coauthors has been published […]

Photographic image of a black hole

Ripon alumna Ann Ewing ’41 coined the term ‘black hole’ in space terminology

The first-ever image of a black hole, a space phenomenon located in a distant galaxy, was released Wednesday with details published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. […]