Aaron Santos is a physicist, author, and an occasional actor/director currently doing research at the University of Michigan.  He lives in Ann Arbor with his lovely and highly talented wife Anna Lackaff.

Santos grew up in New Bedford, MA.  After graduating from New Bedford High School, he attended MIT where he received a B.S. in physics.  After graduating, he taught physics and chemistry in the Boston Public School system.  He then attended Boston University where he received a PhD in physics while studying the kinetics of the DNA melting transition in the Klein group.  He’s currently studying the self-assembly of various nanoscale systems in the Glotzer group at UMich.

When not doing research, Santos enjoys acting and directing.  He has previously appeared as the Harlequin in the Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Lully’s opera Psyché and as an extra in the American Repertory Theatre’s Dido, Queen of Carthage.  When in Boston, he performs and directs the physical comedy of the commedia dell’arte troupe i Sebastiani.

Since leaving teaching, Santos has developed a strong desire to communicate science to the general public in ways that are both educational and entertaining.  Toward this end, he recently published How Many Licks, or How to Estimate Damn Near Anything, a humorous collection of approximations: how long will it take until the Earth is covered in graves, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop, etc.  More recently, Santos has made use of his acting and directing experience by animating cartoons that depict various science and math concepts.

University department heads looking for new faculty are strongly encouraged to inquire about his availability.