Dr. Klebert Feitosa is an experimental physicist working in the area of soft condensed matter. In 2010 he joined the faculty of the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy where he is currently an associate professor. Klebert received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Before he arrived at JMU, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He also worked as a principal scientist for GlaxoSmithKline in the area of powder and granules. In the spring of 2020, Klebert was a visiting scholar in the group of soft mechanics at Aarhus University in Denmark.

Klebert brings to his role of Interim Coordinator of Student Creative Activities and Research extensive experience working with undergraduate researchers. During his time at JMU he has supervised more than 40 students in research, many of whom have continued their research endeavors in graduate school and industrial R&D. As a teaching scholar, Klebert coordinated the development of a novel assessment instrument for computational skills, created a hands-on online laboratory course for introductory physics, and founded the Virginia Soft Matter workshop to promote interdisciplinary research and network opportunities for the soft matter community in the Commonwealth. In 2020 Klebert was the recipient of JMU’s Roberts Endowment for Faculty Excellence award.