Prof. David O. Kashinski, Ph.D.

Dr. David Kashinski is a physics professor in the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering at the United States Military Academy. He graduated summa cum laude from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in May 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in physics and a minor in mathematics. He immediately began his graduate studies in theoretical physics at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in August 2005.

In January 2007, Dr. Kashinski earned a Master of Science in physics, and he completed a Doctor of Philosophy in July 2010. His dissertation research centered on conducting electronic structure calculations of both ground and excited molecular states required for dissociative recombination studies of electrons with N₂H⁺.

Dr. Kashinski began his appointment at West Point in summer 2010, teaching introductory physics. In early 2013, his appointment transitioned to the tenure track, and he began teaching in the advanced physics program while also serving as a researcher in the Photonics Research Center. He earned the rank of associate professor and tenure in 2016 and the rank of professor in 2021. He has held multiple leadership and governance roles within the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, the Photonics Research Center and the academy.

He is actively involved in collaborative theoretical and computational molecular physics research with the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Maryland; the AMO group at Lehigh University; and the Astro-Particle-Chemistry group in Montpellier, France. His current research initiatives include advancing the understanding of dissociative recombination of electrons with heavy molecular ions and applying modern quantum chemistry techniques to calculate observable properties of gas-phase molecules. Within the Photonics Research Center, his work is conducted in the Quantum Information Sciences Laboratory as part of the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics research group.

All of these research initiatives remain ongoing and include cadet researchers at all levels.