Chemistry professor publishes interdisciplinary biophysical chemistry textbook with the Royal Society of Chemistry

John R. Jefferson, professor of chemistry at Luther College, authored “Introduction to Biophysical Chemistry: An Interdisciplinary Approach,” a 338-page textbook that bridges the disciplines of physics, chemistry and biology, and is designed to help college students investigate some of the big unanswered questions in biology.

“Textbooks typically focus on teaching primarily what we already understand,” Jefferson said. “This book tries to help students identify the things we don’t understand and use what we do know to go after the explanations. It teaches you how to think about the big questions.”

John R. Jefferson, professor of chemistry at Luther College, authored “Introduction to Biophysical Chemistry: An Interdisciplinary Approach,” a textbook that bridges the disciplines of physics, chemistry and biology.

What makes “Introduction to Biophysical Chemistry: An Interdisciplinary Approach” stand out is its interdisciplinary spiral approach. Instead of covering physics, chemistry and biology as separate sections, the book cycles through each discipline at progressively higher levels. The structure, reflected in the spiral on the book’s cover, helps students to see the connections across fields rather than staying confined to one discipline.

“Traditional books tend to stay within one discipline the whole way through,” Jefferson said. “Students from the physics side would stay in physics and not get involved with the other disciplines. The goal was to make it interdisciplinary, so that as you learn the advanced topics, you’re always looking for ways to overlap the physics, the chemistry and the biology.”

A Spiral Approach to the Big Questions of Science

The textbook is organized into three parts. The first part reviews the subdisciplines, including physics, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology and recombinant technology. The second part covers experimental methods with highlighted advanced applications such as spectroscopy, microscopy, separation methods, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance.

The third part is what Jefferson considers the heart of the book: the big unanswered questions in the field. These include questions about protein structure and function (proteomics), the role of intracellular organelles and membranes, the process of aging and disease, the origin of life and evolution, and brain function and development. These are the questions that Jefferson believes will be the focus for our next generation of scientists.

Each chapter ends with what Jefferson calls thought-provoking questions. These are not typical exercises with a single correct answer. The questions are open-ended and designed to lead students into a deeper investigation. Every question is paired with web-linked references that are free, publicly accessible articles.

“Other textbooks ask you questions that you can answer,” Jefferson said. “These questions ask you to think.”

Travel Informs the Textbook’s Writing

The project began when Jefferson reached out to the Royal Society of Chemistry to inquire about a biophysical chemistry book that is currently out of print. Jefferson offered to help update the textbook. The publisher invited him to write an entirely new textbook instead.

Chemistry Professor John R. Jefferson (left) and his wife Marion Pruitt-Jefferson visited the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon while traveling across the western United States in 2023.

In 2023, Jefferson started to write the textbook during a sabbatical funded in part by the Doris and Ragnvald Ylvisaker Endowment for Faculty Growth. Jefferson and his wife, Marion Pruitt-Jefferson, spent four months living in an RV while traveling across the western United States. Jefferson visited four institutions teaching similar courses in biophysical chemistry: Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon; Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon; Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.

At each institution, faculty provided Jefferson with feedback. The message Jefferson heard repeatedly was that students and researchers tend to stay within their own discipline, missing the chance to address bigger questions. For example, an analytical chemist told him that using biological systems merely to improve analytical techniques is a missed opportunity.

Jefferson tested his new interdisciplinary approach in a seminar at Colorado College. The response was so enthusiastic that students stayed more than an hour to ask questions.

Students Engage with the Textbook

Jefferson said one particularly rewarding part of writing the book here at Luther was watching Luther students engage with the open-ended questions. Some students created posters, others designed group activities, and one class turned the questions into full presentations.

“The book was possible because of the interchange between professors and students in different disciplines,” Jefferson said. “It is the process of first teaching the basics, and then encouraging the students to take the next step. That’s what a liberal arts institution like Luther gives you.”

In 2023, Chemistry Professor John R. Jefferson converted a small space inside a camper trailer to be his office during a sabbatical funded in part by the Doris and Ragnvald Ylvisaker Endowment for Faculty Growth.

When asked what he hopes a student takes away from the book, Jefferson’s answer was clear: that an interdisciplinary approach is the key to addressing the biggest questions in science.
Jefferson has been a faculty member within Luther’s chemistry department since 1991. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College and a doctorate from the Catholic University of America.

Jefferson’s textbook was written for advanced undergraduate students and first-year graduate students who have studied either chemistry, biology or physics. Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2025, the book is currently used in one of Luther’s advanced chemistry courses.

“Introduction to Biophysical Chemistry: An Interdisciplinary Approach” is available for purchase through the Royal Society of Chemistry at books.rsc.org.

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