William Livernois
I am a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Washington, applying quantum-based methods to nanomaterials and nanoelectronics. I am the lead developer of three open-source research codes: GauNEGF for nanoscale quantum transport, PyMSMT+mmDNA for force field generation in metal-DNA systems, and G3NAT for machine-learned transport models of nucleic acids.
Before my MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering, I earned a BS in Chemical Engineering and Physics from MIT and spent four years in industry on pilot-scale process design for nanomaterials synthesis — polymer thin films and carbon/boron nitride nanotubes. That background shapes how I work now: closely with experimental collaborators around the world, keeping the bridge between experiment and theory in every research direction. I am passionate about applying science to the climate crisis, through advocacy and focused research on materials for a green transition.
Teaching: courses across ECE, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, and Physics — from introductory chemistry to photonics as a TA, and as instructor for analog circuits in the CHIPS2Future program (Summer 2026).
Curriculum Vitae
Latest News
Inaugural CHIPS2Future Program a Success
The first run of the CHIPS2Future study abroad program wrapped up in Taiwan! I taught the analog circuits course, part of a sequence that took students from semiconductor physics through circuit design and into experimental labs probing 8nm transistors and testing industry ICs, capped with site visits to GUC, Winbond, TSMC, MediaTek, and NYCU. The students came away with a genuinely rounded view of the semiconductor ecosystem, and had a great time doing it.
Invited Talk at Academia Sinica
I gave an invited talk at the Institute of Chemistry at Academia Sinica in Taipei, titled "Spin-Dependent Electron Transport in Multi-Heme Cytochromes: A DFT and NEGF Study." Many thanks to Dr. Cherri Hsu for being such a warm host, and to everyone there for the great discussions. Looking forward to future collaborations!
Invited Seminar at Yale Energy Sciences Institute
I gave an invited seminar at the Yale Energy Sciences Institute, hosted by Gary Brudvig and Nikhil Malvankar, titled "Spin-dependent Electron Transport in Cytochromes: Unraveling Quantum Behavior in Heme Nanowires from First Principles." It was a pleasure to present the ongoing collaboration with the Malvankar research group, exciting work to come!
mmDNA Force Fields Paper Published
After about a full year in review, the force fields paper has been published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, yahoo!
mmDNA Force Fields Updated Preprint
We have updated the metal mediate DNA force field generation software with charge fitting and analysis software, available on github with results summarized in the updated preprint on ChemRXiv (in review).
Silver Nanocluster Paper Preprint
I contributed photon absorption and emission modeling to an exciting new work in collaboration with the NYU DNA Nanotechnology group. Preprint published on ChemRXiv.
PhD Defense Passed
I defended my doctoral dissertation, titled "Modeling Charge Transport Through Biomolecules with Transition Metals" and passed my final exam!
Transmetalation Paper Published in Small
The paper titled "Transmetalation for DNA-Based Molecular Electronics" was published in Small. This builds on our previous works with the NYU team, with this work led by Arpan De (UW) and Brandon Lu (NYU).