The Atlantic recently referred to Christopher Hendon as “specialty coffee’s resident scientist.” Now that he’s our scientist, he’s using supercomputers to work on solving the world's most pressing energy and sustainability problems. Ready to get wired?

Espresso—it’s as Northwest as rain, bookstores, and bicycles. No wonder Christopher Hendon came here after finishing his post-doctoral research at MIT.

Hendon’s endless quest for the God Shot (i.e. perfect espresso) has led to new discoveries about grinding beans, filtering water, and more, earning the attention of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Nature, and Science (not to mention the world’s top baristas).

His journey with java began in Bath, England, where he was working on his PhD. Tired of his roommate’s terrible brew, Hendon Googled “good coffee,” and discovered Colonna & Smalls, a shop that made great espresso.

He soon befriended the store’s co-owner, Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, and together they began to create better cappuccinos through chemistry. Colonna-Dashwood bought beans roasted all over the UK. But on one occasion he was unable to get some of them to taste right. “Which was surprising because he’s quite good (one of the best in the world) at making all coffee taste excellent,” said Hendon, whose space in the Lewis Integrative Science Building looks less like a lab and more like a typical office—except for the coffee grinder, digital coffee scale, gooseneck kettle, and selection of world class coffees. As a computational chemist, Hendon doesn’t mix actual chemicals—but he’s always happy to brew a sterling cup of Joe for visitors.

“Over the next three years, Maxwell taught me coffee and I taught him science,” he recalls. “Turns out, the problem was rooted in the chemistry of their water.” The two went on to win international barista championships, write a book, Water for Coffee, and transform the art and science of espresso worldwide.

“For whatever reason, science has stayed away from coffee for a long time,” says Hendon. “So there’s a tremendous amount of reward to be had there. I see coffee as an area where you still are doing the experimentation. You’re using your senses, so you haven’t removed the human element. What’s really neat is that you can drink your product. Which you’re not supposed to do in your undergraduate chemistry lab.”

Local roasters are buzzing about Hendon’s arrival, and he’ll continue using coffee as a way to introduce people to science. But he actually didn’t join the UO faculty to study coffee. Instead, he’s exploring energy and sustainable materials.

Hendon’s research could lead to better batteries, greener manufacturing, or hydrogen-powered cars. That might seem like a big leap from lattes, but he’ll convince you it’s not. Because all stuff on earth—coffee, water, carbon, hydrogen, and everything else—follows the same scientific principles.