He completed a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Washington in 2013. The thesis topic was the creation of non-fouling surfaces with computational modeling. White and his research group use experiments, molecular simulations, and machine-learning to design new materials. Experiments answer the essential question of if and how well a material works for a particular application. Molecular simulation provides the molecular insight into why a material works. Machine-learning provides the tool to optimize a material so that it works best.