John Cooper
Chemical Engineer · Nuclear Engineer · U.S. Navy Nuclear Operator
John Cooper is the founder of Pools Scientific LLC and the host of the Pools Scientific Podcast. He holds a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. Before entering the pool industry, he served in the United States Navy as a Nuclear Operator aboard submarines — where water chemistry in a closed system under extreme operational conditions was not optional, and precision was never a preference. Over a career spanning thousands of pools, John currently operates an exclusive by-referral-only route serving a discerning private clientele in the Kansas City metro. Every episode of this podcast is grounded in that real-world operational experience.
"Balanced water never damages a pool. Out of balance water always does. It's that simple. Everything else — every calculation, every test, every adjustment — is in service of that one principle."
The engineer who chose pools.
The decision to bring an engineering discipline to pool care wasn't accidental. It was inevitable. When you've spent years managing water chemistry aboard a nuclear submarine — where the margin for error is measured in lives, not dollars — you develop an instinct for precision that doesn't switch off when you leave the Navy.
When John entered the pool industry, he found a trade built largely on intuition, institutional habit, and surface-level chemistry. The science was there — it just wasn't being applied. The Langelier Saturation Index existed. The mathematics of chlorine efficacy existed. The electrochemistry of salt cell operation existed. Nobody was teaching it accessibly or applying it consistently.
Pools Scientific LLC was built to fix that — first as a premium service operation, then as an educational platform. The podcast is the natural extension of what John has been doing with every client conversation for years: taking complex chemistry and making it useful, actionable, and impossible to ignore.
A vacuum worth filling.
John spent time listening to every major pool podcast available on Spotify and Apple before launching this show. What he found was a field dominated by campfire conversation, uninformed opinions, and content that actively fails the people trying to learn from it.
There was no science-based pool podcast. No host with an engineering background. No content that treated pool chemistry with the rigor it deserves. The gap between what the industry was teaching and what the science actually says was — and remains — significant.
The Pools Scientific Podcast exists to close that gap. Fifty-two episodes per year. Every Tuesday. Three audiences served simultaneously — pool owners who want to understand their water, service professionals who want to sharpen their science, and company owners who want to build a knowledge-based competitive advantage.
This is not a hobby project. It is a deliberate effort to raise the standard of pool care education nationally — built on real credentials, a real operating route, and a genuine belief that the industry deserves better than what it's had.
Education
M.S. Nuclear Engineering
B.S. Chemical Engineering
U.S. Navy Nuclear Operator
PHTA Certifications
Experience
Over a career spanning thousands of pools across the Kansas City metro and broader region.
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M.S. Nuclear Engineering
Graduate-level study in nuclear systems, thermodynamics, and fluid chemistry. The foundation for understanding water chemistry at a molecular and systems level that goes far beyond standard pool industry training.
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B.S. Chemical Engineering
Undergraduate grounding in chemical processes, reaction kinetics, and thermodynamics. The discipline that makes the Langelier Saturation Index, chlorine chemistry, and water balance calculations second nature rather than abstract formulas.
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U.S. Navy Nuclear Operator
Operated nuclear power plants aboard U.S. Navy submarines — environments where water chemistry in a closed system directly impacts crew safety and operational readiness. Precision was not optional. This experience shapes every professional standard John applies today.
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Certified Pool Operator (CPO)
Pool and Hot Tub Alliance certification covering water chemistry, pool systems, health and safety regulations, and operational standards for residential and commercial pools. The foundational professional credential in the pool industry.
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Certified Pool Inspector (CPI)
PHTA certification in comprehensive pool inspection — equipment, plumbing, electrical systems, structural components, and water chemistry assessment. The credential that grounds the diagnostic approach used across the Pools Scientific route.
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CMS · CST · CSP
Certified Maintenance Specialist, Certified Service Technician, and Certified Service Professional designations from PHTA. Five certifications total — the complete professional credential stack for pool service excellence.