Raghuveer Parthasarathy has been a Physics professor at the University of Oregon since 2006. His research interests involve biophysics, especially the physical properties of lipid membranes and the assembly of multicellular structures like communities of gut microbes, both of which his group explores using new sorts of optical microscopy. His teaching interests mostly involve courses for non-science majors, including for example a recently developed “biophysics for non-scientists” class (The Physics of Life). His “official” web page is, and he writes the Eighteenth Elephant blog at . ©