Hello my name is Kurt Rhoads and …I will attempt to explain who I am and what I do in three paragraphs.  I was born in raised in Maryland and received a B.S. degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.  Back then, I was interested in everything, but mostly philosophy and engineering.  I came to the Criddle lab in 2000 to complete a Master’s degree and, after a two-year foray into the consulting world, returned in 2003. These days, I research the biotransformation of fluorinated organic compounds.  Such compounds have been used in a variety of products including ScotchGard, popcorn bags, fire-fighting foams, and hard drive lubricants.  The goal of my research is to determine what the transformation products of these compounds are and how fast the transformation occurs.  In addition, I will determine which microbes are responsible for the observed transformations and the effects of fluorinated organic compounds on microbial communities. Much of the rest of my life revolves around music in one way or another and I still find time to occasionally play the piano.  Other activities I enjoy include cooking, knitting, discussing morality, and biking – only one of which is a lie.

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Kurt Rhoads
Terman Engineering Center, Room B23
380 Panama Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-4020
krhoads@stanford.edu