Biography
About Dr. Taylor
Jason (‘JT’) grew up in North Canton, Ohio before attending Baldwin-Wallace College where he played baseball and received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and minor in Biology. He continued his education at Indiana University where he received a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2002. While attending graduate school, JT met the love of his life (Becka) while leading worship for a campus ministry. Becka and JT were married in 2001 and soon moved to Baltimore where JT taught at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for one year before joining the faculty at Roberts in 2003.
JT and Becka have been blessed with four little girls (Emma, Hannah, Savannah, and Abigail) and live a few miles from campus. JT and his wife regularly open up their home to minister to students through Bible studies and social activities. Additionally, JT and Becka have been actively involved in Habitat for Humanity since coming to Roberts and have taken students to Georgia, Mississippi, or Alabama each February break to build houses. He also plays guitar and leads worship with his wife at Calvary Assembly in Chili, NY. Outside of teaching, ministry, and spending time with his family, he loves getting out and enjoying about any active sport he can participate in during his free time.
Professional Affiliations
American Scientific Affiliation (ASA)
Council of Undergraduate Research (CUR)
American Chemical Society (ACS)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Research
- Bioanalytical Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
- Environmental Science
Publications
J. R. Taylor, D. J. Maxwell, and S. Nie, “Processive cleavage of nanoparticle-linked substrates by exonuclease enzymes,” in preparation.
A. Ensign and J. R. Taylor, “What’s in your wallet? An analysis of American currency for the presence of trace levels of cocaine,” Senior Honors Thesis (RWC) 2006.
J. Gorse, A. Lusk, J. R. Taylor, J. Dickens, S. P. Tanner, C. M. Hill, W. H. Philipp, and K. W. Street, “Properties of a novel ion-exchange film,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2004; 43(23), 7600-7607.
M. Ensign and J. R. Taylor, “Is it something in the water? An examination of water samples for trace amounts of lead, iron, and copper,” Senior Honors Thesis (RWC) 2004.
D. J. Maxwell, J. R. Taylor, and S. Nie, “Self-Assembled nanoparticle probes for recognition and detection of biomolecules,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124(32), 9606-9612.
J. R. Taylor and S. Nie, “Probing specific DNA sequences with luminescent semiconductor quantum dots,” Proc. SPIE 2001, 4258, pp 16-24.
J. R. Taylor and S. Nie, "Optical imaging and biomechanical studies of single DNA molecules," Recent Advances in Biomechanics, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2001, pp 11-17.
J. R. Taylor, M. Fang, and S. Nie “Probing specific sequences on single DNA molecules with bioconjugated fluorescent nanoparticles” Anal. Chem. 2000, 72, 1979-1976.
Presentations
T. P. Rutkowski, D. G. Puente, D. R. Porter, and J. R. Taylor, “Fluorescence resonance energy transfer study of biomolecular recognition events using gold nanoparticle probes,” Poster Presentation, American Chemical Society Meeting (Rochester Section), 2008.
J. R. Taylor and J. Eilertsen, “Fluorescence quenching studies with bioconjugated nanoparticle probes,” Summer Professional Activity Grant Presentation, Roberts Wesleyan College, 2007.
G. Centola and J. R. Taylor, “Detection of semivolatile organics in local water systems using GC-MS,” Poster Presentation, American Chemical Society Meeting (Rochester Section), 2006.
A. Ensign and J. R. Taylor, “What’s in your wallet? An analysis of American currency for trace amounts of cocaine,” Honors Day Presentation, Roberts Wesleyan College, 2006.
J. R. Taylor, “Service: a faculty member’s perspective,” Faculty Retreat Presentation, Robert Wesleyan College, 2006
Martin and J. R. Taylor, “Synthesis of 2-30 nm gold nanoparticles for protein linkage studies,” Honors Research Presentation, Roberts Wesleyan College, 2005.
R. L. Taylor and J. R. Taylor, “When life doesn’t make sense,” Chapel Presentation, Roberts Wesleyan College, 2004.
M. Ensign and J. R. Taylor, “Is it something in the water?” Honors Day Presentation, Roberts Wesleyan College, 2004.
J. R. Taylor and S. Nie, “Ultrasensitive detection of specific DNA targets using semiconductor nanoparticle probes,” Pittsburgh Conference, New Orleans, LA, 2001.
D.M. Maxwell, J. R. Taylor and S. Nie, “Self-Assembled nanoparticle probes for recognition and detection of biomolecules,” Pittsburgh Conference, New Orleans, LA, 2001.
J. R. Taylor and S. Nie, “Probing specific DNA sequences with luminescent semiconductor quantum dots,” invited paper presented at the Society of Photo-Optical and Instrumentation Engineers Meeting, San Jose, CA, January 2001.
J. R. Taylor, Warren Chan, and S. Nie, “Targeting specific sequences on single DNA molecules with bioconjugated fluorescent probes,” Pittsburgh Conference, New Orleans, LA, 2000.
J. R. Taylor, M. Fang, and S. Nie, “Ultrasensitive detection of single DNA molecules with bioconjugated fluorescent particles,” Pittsburgh Conference, Orlando, FL, 1999.
M. Fang, J. R. Taylor, and S. Nie, “Direct observation of single DNA molecules,” Pittsburgh Conference, New Orleans, LA, 1998.
J. R. Taylor and J. Gorse, “Characterization of ion exchange polyacrylate films for environmental decontamination,” Cleveland Section of the ACS, Meeting-in-Miniature, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, 1997.
J. R. Taylor and J. Gorse, “Preparation of ion exchange films for metal ion detection,” Cleveland Section of the ACS, Meeting-in-Miniature, Notre Dame College, Cleveland Heights, OH, 1996.