Sometimes, a great professor can change the course of a college career. For Luke Moore ’24, his experience with Bruce Weisman, a professor in Rice’s Department of Chemistry, became a defining part of his undergraduate journey.
Like many students entering Rice, Luke came to campus with an open mind and an impressive academic background. With interests spanning physics, chemistry and even sports analytics, he faced a tough decision about what to study. Then, as a first-year student, he enrolled in Physical Chemistry. The second semester of the sequence, taught by Weisman, turned out to be pivotal. “Talking with Dr. Weisman made me realize I enjoy the intersection of chemistry and physics,” Luke explained. “That conversation helped me move toward declaring a chemistry major.”
But Weisman’s influence didn’t stop there. Inspired by his teaching, Luke joined the Weisman Lab, a group renowned for studying the optical properties of carbon nanotubes. Their work has roots in a groundbreaking 2002 discovery by Weisman, C60 Nobel laureate Rick Smalley, and others, who identified that 33 types of carbon nanotubes fluoresce at unique wavelengths. This finding opened doors to practical applications in energy, sensing and medicine — fields with transformative potential.
Because nanotubes get tangled up easily and are insoluble in water, researchers must modify them to keep them separated and make them more dispersible in water. “One surfactant I use [for this purpose] is actually single-stranded DNA,” Luke said. “You have the negatively charged phosphate and the slightly hydrophobic nitrogenous base that let it wrap around nanotubes, letting you dissolve hydrophobic nanotubes in an aqueous environment.”
What makes DNA particularly fascinating is how the sequence of its bases — adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine — affects its binding to the nanotube and, in turn, the nanotube’s fluorescence. Luke’s research explores how different base pair sequences and their orientations — such as guanine-thymine repeats versus thymine-guanine repeats — change these interactions.
“We’ve seen they bind differently with different sequences. We’re trying to understand why that is the case,” he said. “What does it reveal to us about the way that DNA binds to the surface of the carbon nanotube?” This deeper understanding could help scientists refine nanotube applications, from better design of nanotube-based sensors to medical diagnostics and therapies.
For Luke, the societal implications of this research resonate deeply. His faith has been a guiding force throughout his college journey, inspiring him to find ways to make a positive difference in the world. While his work in the Weisman Lab focused on nanotube applications that could benefit health and technology, Luke also balanced this with seminary studies, pursuing a master’s degree in biblical and theological studies. These dual interests have shaped his future ambitions: he has applied to medical school, hoping to integrate his scientific expertise and faith to serve others. “The desire I have to go into medicine is to use that in a way that helps others,” he said. “Ultimately, I want to go to sleep every day just knowing I did what I could to help those around me and to make the most of the opportunities I was given.”