Michael Jackson received his bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from the State University of New York-Oswego and a doctorate in physics from New Mexico State University. He has held faculty positions at the State University of West Georgia, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UW-L), and Central Washington University (CWU). As a faculty member, he developed collaborations with scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Oxford to establish an externally funded research facility to detect and measure far-infrared laser emissions for their subsequent use in studying stable molecules and free radicals. A key aspect of his scholarship was meaningfully incorporating undergraduates into his research activities. To date, he has published over thirty peer-reviewed manuscripts with undergraduate co-authors, and his students have given invited presentations at national and international conferences.

Additionally, he has served as department chairperson at UW-L and CWU. At CWU, he led the department through a successful revitalization that included a growth in the program from approximately 20 to over 70 physics majors within six years. Currently, he is Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology after having served as Founding Dean of the College of Science and Technology at Millersville University of Pennsylvania.

He is an advocate for incorporating high-impact practices into the curriculum that includes providing research experiences for undergraduates. He serves as Physics and Astronomy Division Councilor in the Council on Undergraduate Research; is the recipient of several awards including the David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching from the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and is subsequently a Fellow of the AAPT.