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John H. Reif

A. Hollis Edens Distinguished Professor of Computer Science
Computer Science
Box 90129, Durham, NC 27708-0129
LSRC D-229, 308 Research Drive, Dept Comp Sci, Duke U, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Molecular assembly, DNA computing, robot motion planning, parallel algorithms, randomized algorithms, graph algorithms, algebraic computation, data compression, optical computation, and quantum computation.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


A. Hollis Edens Distinguished Professor of Computer Science · 2003 - Present Computer Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Computer Science · 1986 - Present Computer Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 2024 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering

In the News


Published December 23, 2022
Designing With DNA
Published November 22, 2019
I.D. Verification, Now for Cancer
Published April 11, 2019
Tiny Light-Up Barcodes Identify Molecules by Their Twinkling

View All News

Recent Publications


Neural CRNs: A Natural Implementation of Learning in Chemical Reaction Networks.

Journal Article ACS synthetic biology · October 2025 Molecular circuits capable of autonomous learning could unlock novel applications in fields such as bioengineering and synthetic biology. To this end, existing chemical implementations of neural computing have primarily relied on emulating discrete-layered ... Full text Cite

A biomimetic branching signal-passing tile assembly model with dynamic growth and disassembly.

Journal Article Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · August 2024 Natural biological branching processes can form tree-like structures at all scales and, moreover, can perform various functions to achieve specific goals; these include receiving stimuli, performing two-way communication along their branches, and dynamical ... Full text Cite

Leak-resilient enzyme-free nucleic acid dynamical systems through shadow cancellation

Journal Article Journal of the Royal Society Interface · June 19, 2024 DNA strand displacement (DSD) emerged as a prominent reaction motif for engineering nucleic acid-based computational devices with programmable behaviours. However, strand displacement circuits are susceptible to background noise, known as leaks, which disr ... Full text Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants


Molecular-Scale AI Via DNA Computing

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency · 2025 - 2026

SHF: Small: High-speed DNA polymerase CRNs for signal amplification, oscillation, consensus, and linear control

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2021 - 2025

Support of Twenty First Conference on the Foundations of Nanoscience (FNANO24)

ConferencePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Army Research Office · 2024 - 2024

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


Harvard University · 1977 Ph.D.
Harvard University · 1975 M.S.
Tufts University · 1973 B.S.

External Links


Website