Past Polymer Seminar Speakers (1993-2019)

FALL 2019

Prof. Ronald G. Larson, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan
TOPIC: “Multi-Scale Modeling of the Structure and Rheology of Surfactant Solutions and Polymer-Colloidal Networks”

Prof. Alex Travesset, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University
TOPIC: “Programmable Assembly of Nanocrystal Superlattices”

Prof. Laura L. Kiessling, MIT Department of Chemistry
TOPIC: “Polymer Probes of Immunity”

Prof. Keith A. Brown, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University
TOPIC: “Unraveling Hierarchical Materials Using Autonomous Research Systems”

Prof. Coray Colina, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida
TOPIC: “In silico synthesis and characterization of soft materials”

Prof. Yeon Sik Jung, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
TOPIC: “Engineering Solvent-Polymer Interactions for Ultrahigh-Resolution Printing of 3D Nanostructures”

SPRING 2019

Prof. Dr. Sébastien Lecommandoux, Bordeaux-INP, ENSCBP
TOPIC: “Biomimetic Polymersomes Self-Assemblies as Active Functional Biomaterials”

Prof. Raymond Tu, Department of Chemical Engineering, City College of New York, CUNY
TOPIC: “Quantifying the Competitive Adsorption Between Biomacromolecules and Surfactants at the Air/Water Interface”

Prof. Brett P. Fors, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University
TOPIC: “Development and Applications of New Synthetic Strategies for Polymer Science”

Dr. Jean-François Lutz, CNRS Research Director, Deputy Director of the Institut Charles Sadron
TOPIC: “Digital Polymers: Emergence of a New Class of Synthetic Macromolecules”

Prof. Qian Chen, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
TOPIC: “Direct Nanoscopic Imaging: From crystallization of nanoparticles to fluctuation of membrane proteins”

Prof. Glenn H. Fredrickson, Materials Research Laboratory, University of California/Santa Barbara
TOPIC: “Field-Theoretic Simulations: An emerging tool for soft material design”

Prof. Allon I. Hochbaum, Department of Chemistry, University of California/Irvine
TOPIC: “Electronic Conductivity in Supramolecular Biomaterials”

Prof. Emily B. Pentzer, Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University
TOPIC: “Assembly of 2D Particles at Fluid-Fluid Interfaces to Architect Advanced Composite Materials”

Prof. Francesco Stellacci, Supramolecular Nanomaterials and Interfaces Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
TOPIC: “Supramolecular Antivirals”

FALL 2018

Prof. Garret M. Miyake, Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University
TOPIC: “Organocatalyzed Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization”

Prof. Cecilia Leal, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign
TOPIC: “Complexity in the Chemistry and Physics of Lipid Membranes as a Handle to Activate the Delivery of Cargo to Cells”

Prof. Matthew B. Francis, Department of Chemistry, University of California/Berkeley
TOPIC: “Making New Materials from Synthetically Modified Proteins”

Prof. Charles E. Sing, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign
TOPIC: “Designing Polymer Materials Using the Precise Placement of Molecular Charge”

Prof. Ting Xu, Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Chemistry, University of California/Berkeley
TOPIC: “Understand Entropy: A Valuable Path Toward Functional Materials”

SPRING 2018

Prof. Meredith Silberstein, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University
TOPIC: “Mechanics and Chemistry in Designing Polymers”

EXPONENT Tech Talk
Dr. Corissa Lee, Sr. Associate and Dr. John McGann, Sr. Scientist, Exponent Polymer Science and Materials Chemistry
TOPIC: “Failure Analysis: Outside the Lab”

Prof. Darren J. Lipomi, Department of Nano Engineering, Univ. of California/San Diego
TOPIC: “Mechanical Properties of Semi-Conducting Polymers for Energy and Virtual Touch”

Prof. Samir Mitragotri, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
TOPIC: “Understanding and Overcoming Biological Barriers to Drug Delivery”

Prof. Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, and Chemistry, Northwestern University
TOPIC: “Control of Functionalized NanoParticle Assembly”

Prof. Michael Dickey, Department of Chemical and Biololecular Engineering, North Carolina State University
TOPIC: “Mechanics and Chemistry in Designing Polymers”

Prof. Rein V. Ulijn, Director, NanoScience Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York (CUNY)
TOPIC: “Guiding Principles for Peptide-Based, Life-Like Nanotechnology”

 

FALL 2017

Prof. Zhibin Guan, Department of Chemistry, University of California/Irvine
TOPIC: “Be Strong, Tough, Adaptive and Self-Healing: Life Lessons Applied to Soft Material Designs”

Dr. Byeongdu Lee, Argonne National Laboratory
TOPIC: “Small Angle X-ray Scattering Studies of Colloidal Nanoparticles”

Prof. Nathan Gianneschi, Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University
TOPIC: “Seek, Destroy and Heal: Enzyme-Responsive Nanoparticles as In Vivo Targeted Delivery Systems”

MIT STUDENT SEMINAR
Abigail Halim [Holten-Andersen Group], Department of Materials Science and Engineering
German Parada [Zhao and Olsen Groups], Department of Chemical Engineering
Mukarram Tahir [Alexander-Katz Group], Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Prof. Mir Wais Hosseini, University of Strasbourg, Institute for Advanced Study
TOPIC: “Molecular Tectonics: From Networks of Molecules to Networks of Crystals”

Prof. Yan Xia, Department of Chemistry, Stanford University
TOPIC: “Building and Breaking Macromolecular Ladders to Develop Functional Materials”

 

SPRING 2017

Prof. Tae Lim Choi, Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University
TOPIC: “Applying New Synthetic Methods to Versatile Polymerization”

Prof. Bing Xu, Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University
TOPIC: “Molecular design of soft matter as anticancer therapeutics or active materials”

Prof. Ke Zhang, College of Science, Northeastern University
TOPIC: “Teaching Oligonucleotides New Tricks — A Macromolecular Approach”

Prof. Luyi Sun, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut
TOPIC: “Bio-inspired Multifunctional Stimuli-Responsive Materials”

Dr. Salmaan Baxamusa, Staff Scientist, Materials Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
TOPIC: “Polymers for Big Science: Free-standing films and low-stress CVD materials at the National Ignition Facility”

Dr. Brett A. Helms, The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
TOPIC: “Applying the Tools of Materials Genomics to Address Charge-Transport Bottlenecks in Electrochemical Devices”

Dr. Kenneth R. Shull, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University
TOPIC: “Deposition, mechanics and phase behavior of polyelectrolyte complex films”

 

FALL 2016

Prof. Jinming Gao, Southwestern Medical Center, University of Texas
TOPIC: “pH Nanotransistors to Digitize Biological Signals”

2nd Annual PPSM Aldrich Lecture
Prof. Karen L. Wooley, Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering
TOPIC: “Expanding the Scopes of Synthetic Organic and Polymer Chemistries: Utilization of the inherent stereochemical and functional diversities of natural products to produce unique materials”

Prof. Niels Holten-Andersen, MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE)
TOPIC: “Bio-Inspired Metal-Coordination Dynamics: An Easier Way to Engineer Supramolecular Mechanics?”

Prof. David K. Smith, Department of Chemistry, University of York
TOPIC: “Hard Facts About Soft Matter: Self-Assembled Multi-Component Gels for High-Tech Applications”

Prof. Mark W. Grinstaff, Departments of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering, Boston University
TOPIC: “Clinically Informed Biomaterials: Chemistry and Engineering”

Prof. Padma Gopalan, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin
TOPIC: “Engineering Interfacial Properties with Polymer Brushes and Nano-patterns”

Prof. Aaron Esser-Kahn, Department of Chemistry, University of California/Irvine
TOPIC: “Polymeric Tools to Manipulate Innate Immunity: Probing a Code Without a Key”

Prof. Nicolas J. Alvarez, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Drexel University
TOPIC: “The Effect of Chemistry on Rheology in Supramolecular Polymers”

Prof. Ryan C. Hayward, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts/Amherst
TOPIC: “Tuning domain connectivity in multi-component polymer-based materials”

 

SPRING 2016

Prof. Felix R. Fischer, Department of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
TOPIC: “Teaching Polymers the Meaning of Life and Nanographene Quantum Confinement”

Prof. Frank S. Bates, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota
TOPIC: “Frank-Kasper and Quasicrystal Phases in Short Block Polymers”

Prof. Anish Tuteja, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
TOPIC: “Designing Surfaces with Extreme Wettabilities”

Prof. Joseph Tracy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
TOPIC: “Functional Nanoparticles for Responsive Polymer Composites”

Prof. C. Grant Willson, Departments of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, University of Texas/Austin
TOPIC: “Polymers for High Resolution Imaging Applications”

Dr. Ronald Zuckermann, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
TOPIC: “New nanomaterials at the interface of structural biology and polymer science”

Prof. Ullrich Steiner, Soft Matter Physics Group, Adolphe Merkle Institute, Fribourg, Switzerland
TOPIC:“10-nm Structure Formation in Emerging Photovoltaics by Polymer Self-Assembly and Crystallisation”

Prof. LaShanda T. Korley, Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western University
TOPIC: “Utilizing concepts of mechanics, transport, and assembly in Nature – towards responsive materials”

Prof. Makoto Ouchi, Department of Polymer Chemistry, Kyoto University
TOPIC: “Control of Side-Chain Sequence and Main-Chain Topology for Vinyl Polymers”

 

FALL 2015
Prof. Adam Willard, MIT Department of Chemistry
TOPIC: “Electronic structure and dynamics in disordered organic conjugated systems”

1st Annual PPSM Aldrich Lecture
Prof. Virgil Percec, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania/Philadelphia
TOPIC: “Mimicking Complex Biological Membranes and their Programmable Glycan Ligands”

Prof. Anna C. Balazs, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh
TOPIC: “Designing ‘Materials that Compute’: Coupling self-oscillating gels and piezoelectric films”

Prof. Stuart J. Rowan, Department of Molecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
TOPIC: “Using Dynamic Chemistry to Access Stimuli-Responsive Materials”

Prof. Matthew L. Becker, Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron
TOPIC:“Using Poly(ester urea)s for Functional Regeneration of Bone and Vascular Tissues” 

Prof. Bryan Boudouris, School of Engineering, Purdue University
TOPIC: “Designing Macromolecules for Advanced Energy Conversion and Separations Applications”

Prof. Rafal Klajn, Department of Organic Chemistry, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel
TOPIC: “From dynamically self-assembling materials to chemical reactivity in confined environments”

Prof. Randy H. Ewoldt, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois
TOPIC: “Droplet impacts: when yield-stress fluids do and do not stick”

Prof. Scott T. Milner, Department of Chemical Engineering, Penn State University
TOPIC: “Tubes, Topology, and Entangled Rings”

Prof. Sung Gap Im, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
TOPIC: “Vapor-phase deposited polymeric thin films for the application to gate dielectric layer in organic electronics”

 

SPRING 2015
Prof. Moon Jeong Park, Department of Chemical Engineering, POSTECH (Korea) TOPIC: “Morphology and Ion Transport in Block Copolymer Electrolytes”
Prof. Christine Luscombe, Department of Chemistry, University of Washington TOPIC: “Precise Engineering of Semi-conducting Polymers for Organic Electronics”
MIT POLYMER DAY 2015 SYMPOSIUM Dr. Julia A. Kalow (Swager Group) TOPIC: “ROMPing In and Out: Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Conjugated H-Shaped Polymers” PhD Candidate Michelle K. Sing (McKinley/Olsen Groups) TOPIC: “Importance of chain tumbling and finite extension on the startup and relaxation behavior of transient networks” PhD Candidate Justin Kleingartner (Cohen/McKinley Groups) TOPIC: “Designing robust hierarchically-textured superoleophobic fabrics”PhD Candidate Shengchang Tang (Olsen Group) TOPIC: “Anomalous diffusion and sticky Rouse dynamics in associating networks”
Prof. Nicole Zacharia, Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Akron TOPIC: “Modulating Interactions in Polyelectrolyte Multilayers”
Prof. Kris Matyjaszewski, Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University TOPIC: “Nanostructured Functional Materials by Taming Radicals”
Prof. Malika Jeffries El, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University TOPIC: “Tuning the properties of conjugated polymers via atomic engineering”
Prof. Jeffrey S. Moore, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois TOPIC:“Polymer Mechanochemistry and Self-healing Materials”
FALL 2014
Prof. Gareth H. McKinley, MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering TOPIC: “Power-Law Gels, Scott-Blair and the Fractional Calculus of Soft Networks and Multiscale Soft Materials”
Prof. James Swan, MIT Department of Chemical Engineering TOPIC: “Strong or Weak, Quick or Slow: Interpreting nonlinear viscoelasticity from large amplitude oscillatory flow”
U. Mass./Amherst Department of Polymer Science and Engineering PhD Students: Nakul Bende (Hayward Group) TOPIC: “Catastrophic Success”: Snap through folding of curved shells” AND Jonathan Pham (Crosby Group) TOPIC: “Formation and Mechanics of Hierarchical Nanoparticle-based Structures”
Prof. Stephen L. Craig, Department of Chemistry, Duke University TOPIC: “Mechanochemical Remodeling of Polymers”
Prof. William R. Dichtel, Cornell University TOPIC: “Polymerization Across Multiple Dimensions“
Prof. A.J. (Andrew) Boydston, Department of Chemistry, University of Washington TOPIC:“Polymer Mechanochemistry for the Triggered Release of Small Molecules”
Prof. Mitchell Anthamatten, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester TOPIC: “H-bonding Polymers: From glasses to shape-memory elastomers”
SUMMER 2014
Prof. Nico Bruns, Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Switzerland TOPIC: “Harnessing Proteins for Polymer Synthesis, Nano-Reactors, and Force-Responsive Materials“
SPRING 2014
Dr. Millicent A. Firestone, 87The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Los Alamos National Labs TOPIC: “Hierarchically-structured electronically conducting polyelectrolytes for bioelectronics”
Prof. João Miguel Nobrega, Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Minho (Portugal) TOPIC: “Design of Extruded Profile Forming Tools”
Prof. Michael Rubinstein, Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill TOPIC: “Airway Surface Brush Sweeps Lungs Clean: Polymer Physics Helps Us Breathe Easier”
Prof. Ronald G. Larson, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan TOPIC: “Accurate Modeling of Polymer Dynamics in Simple and Complex Flows”
Prof. Ravi Prakash Jagadeeshan, Monash University TOPIC: “Micro and Macro in the Dynamics of Dilute Polymer Solutions“
Prof. Ana Vera Machado, Institute for Polymers and Composites, University of Minho (Portugal) TOPIC: “Reactive Extrusion: an Overview”
Prof. RJ (Renko) de Vries, Wageningen UR (The Netherlands) TOPIC: “Supramolecular Design of a Minimal Coat-Protein for an Artificial Virus”
Prof. Darrin Pochan, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware TOPIC: “Nanostructure and Material Construction through Peptide or Block Copolymer Solution Assembly“
Prof. Marc A. Hillmyer, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota/Twin Cities TOPIC: “Functional block polymers as masks, membranes and monoliths”
FALL 2013
Prof. Nitash P. Balsara, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley TOPIC: “Nanostructured Block Copolymers for All-Solid Lithium Batteries”
Prof. Malancha Gupta, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science,University of Southern California TOPIC: “Directed Deposition of Functional Polymers onto Structured Materials and Liquid Surfaces”
Dr. Gregoire Cardoen, Dow Chemical R & D Formulation Science TOPIC: “From Suspension to Emulsion Polymers: Challenges in Industrial Research”
Prof. Zvonimir Dogic, Department of Physics, Brandeis University TOPIC: “Spontaneous motion and flows in active liquid crystals”
Prof. Gert Strobl, University of Freiburg TOPIC: “Laws controlling crystallization and melting in bulk polymers”
Prof. Alfred J. Crosby, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, U.Mass. AmherstTOPIC: “Draping Materials: Polymer-Nanoparticle Ribbons, Helices, and Fabrics”
SPRING 2013
Prof. Chinedum Osuji, Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University TOPIC: “Scalable Directed Self-Assembly and Anisotropic Transport Properties of Block Copolymer and Surfactant Mesophases”
Prof. Murugappan Muthukumar, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Theory of macromolecular transport through protein channels and nanopores”
Prof. Ahmed E. Ismail, RWTH Aachen University (Germany) TOPIC: “Using Molecular Simulation to Understand Cellulose Dissolution Mechanisms”
Prof. Joanna Aizenberg, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University TOPIC: “Hydrogel-actuated integrated responsive systems (HAIRS): Moving towards adaptive, homeostatic materials”
POLYMER DAY SYMPOSIUMMIT PPST Graduate Student Charlotte Stewart-Sloan (Olsen Group) TOPIC: “Using Self-assembly on Multiple Length Scales to Design Bio-inspired Light Harvesting Materials”MIT PPST Graduate Student Siddarth Srinivasan (Cohen and McKinley Groups) TOPIC: “Hierarchically Structured Polymeric Surfaces – Applications in Reducing Fluid Friction and Enhancing Liquid-Repellency in Fabrics”MIT Post-Doc Huaxing Zhou (Johnson Group)TOPIC: “Photo-controlled Growth of Telechelic Polymers and End-linked Polymer Gels”
Prof. Timothy Deming, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry TOPIC: “Synthetic multi-functional polypeptide materials for biomedical applications”
Prof. Samuel W. Thomas, Dept. of Chemistry, Tufts University TOPIC: “Controlling Polymer Thin Films with Light”
Prof. Enrique D. Gomez, Dept. Of Chemical Engineering, Penn State University TOPIC: “The role of miscibility and mesostructure in organic photovoltaics”
Prof. Jane E. G. Lipson, Dept. of Chemistry, Dartmouth College TOPIC: “Mixing it up in the polymer world: Understanding and controlling miscibility in polymer solutions and blends”
Prof. Scott Phillips, Dept. of Chemistry, Penn State University TOPIC: “Polymeric Materials with Amplified Responses to Specific External Signals”
FALL 2012
Prof. Jeremiah A. Johnson, MIT Dept. of Chemistry TOPIC: “New Methods for Synthesis and Characterization of Polymer Networks and Nanoparticles”
Prof. Thomas J. McCarthy, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “PDMS Pushed to Extremes”
Prof. Angelo Cacciuto, Dept. of Chemistry, Columbia University TOPIC: “Nanoparticle-driven tube formation on fluid membranes and microphase separation on curved templates”
Prof. Shi-Qing Wang, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron TOPIC: “Exploring the phenomenological and conceptual foundation of nonlinear polymer rheology: From simple shear and uniaxial extension to other types of deformation”
Prof. Vinothan N. Manoharan, Dept. of Physics, Harvard University TOPIC: “Polymer particles and liquid interfaces”
Dr. Yeng-Long Chen, Institute of Physics, Academica Sinica (Taiwan) (Doyle Group Guest) TOPIC: “Squeezing DNA: Properties of a semi-flexible polymer in strong confinement”
Prof. Yao Lin, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Connecticut TOPIC: “Cooperative behaviors in macromolecules and macromolecular assemblies”
Prof. Justin Hanes, Director, Center for Nanomedicine, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University TOPIC: “Mucus Penetrating Nanoparticles”
SPRING 2012
Dr. Ramanathan Nagarajan, US Army Natick Soldier Center TOPIC: “Thermodynamic Stabilization of Nanoparticle Dispersions by Co-Assembly with Block Copolymers”
Prof. Niels Holten-Andersen, Department of Chemistry, Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, and the James Franck Institute, University of Chicago TOPIC: “Metal-coordination: Using one of Nature’s tricks to assemble new soft materials”
POLYMER DAY Seminars: Dr. Joseph Walish (MIT DMSE Thomas Lab), TOPIC: “Photonic Gels: Tunable Color from Colorless Materials” Dr. Simon Haward (MIT MechE McKinley Lab), TOPIC: “Stagnation Point Extensional Flow of Polymer Solutions” Adam S. Zeiger (MIT DMSE Van Vliet Lab), TOPIC: “Excluded Volume Effects and the Extracellular Matrix”
Prof. Christopher Macosko, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota TOPIC: “Co-continuous Polymer Blends to Create Microporous Membranes”
Prof. Matthew Tirrell, Tirrell, Pritzker Director of the Institute for Molecular Engineering TOPIC: “Multivalent Ionic Interactions in Multicomponent Polyelectrolyte Mixtures: From New Physics to New Materials”
Prof. Jodie L. Lutkenhaus, Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University TOPIC: “Layer-by-Layer Assemblies: From Fundamental Thermal Analysis to Electrochemical Energy Storage Applications”
Prof. Russell E. Gorga, Textile Engineering Program Director, North Carolina State University TOPIC: “Unconfined fluid electrospun into high quality nanofibers from a static reservoir”
Prof. LaShanda Korley, Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University TOPIC: “Towards mechanically-tunable materials inspired by nature”
FALL 2011
Prof. David Kaplan, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University TOPIC: “New Functional Materials via Bioengineering”
Prof. Junsang Doh, I-Bio/Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTech) TOPIC: “Polymer-Based Micro/Nano Systems to Interrogate T cell Dynamics”
Prof. Katharina Ribbeck, MIT Biological Engineering TOPIC: “From Nuclear Pores to Mucus: A study of biological hydrogel-based filters”
Prof. David J. Mooney, School of Engineering and Applied Science and Wyss Institute, Harvard University TOPIC: “Infection-Mimicking Polymers”
Prof. Richard Superfine, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill TOPIC: “The River Within: How the Lung Stays Clean”
Prof. Gregory N. Tew, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Designing Synthetic Macromolecules with Strong Similarities to Biology”
Prof. Anne J. McNeil, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan TOPIC: “Synthesizing TT-conjugated copolymers with sequence control using Ni catalysis”
Prof. Heather D. Maynard, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA TOPIC: “Stabilizing Proteins with Polymer Conjugates”

SPRING 2011
Prof. Thomas H. Epps, University of DelawareTOPIC: “Using Interfacial Manipulations to Generate Functional Materials from Nanostructured Polymers”
Prof. Mahesh Mahanthappa, University of Wisconsin TOPIC: “Molecular Heterogeneity in Self-Assembly: Is Monodispersity Necessary?”
Prof. Kenneth R. Shull, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University TOPIC: “Strain hardening, fracture and toughening mechanisms in self-assembling gels”
Dr. Charlene W. Mello, Natick Soldier Center, US Army Research Lab TOPIC: “Immobilization, characterization, and applications of antimicrobial peptides: Towards improved antibacterial coatings and novel pathogen biosensors”
Prof. Arijit Bose, Head, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rhode Island TOPIC: “Nanostructure Evolution in Colloidal Systems”
PPST Graduate Student Wu Siew Tan, Rubner and Cohen Groups TOPIC: “Exploring Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Block Copolymers for Temperature Responsive Coatings” and 2011 PPST Alum Dr. Zhiyong Poon TOPIC: “Understanding the Behavior of nanoparticles in vivo”
Prof. John D. Tovar, Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University TOPIC: “Topological and supramolecular considerations for organic (bio)electronics”
FALL 2010
Prof. Kevin D. Dorfman, University of Minnesota TOPIC: “DNA Electrophoresis in Microfabricated Devices”
Prof. Wolfgang Knoll, Austrian Institute of Technology TOPIC: “Nanostructured Polymeric Materials by Templating Strategies”
Prof. Rama Bansil, Boston University TOPIC: “Gelation of Mucin and Mucus: Protecting the stomach”
Prof. Bradley D. Olsen, MIT Chemical Engineering TOPIC: “Injectable Hydrogels from Associating Telechelic Proteins and Protein-Polymer Conjugates”
Prof. Igal Szleifer, Northwestern University TOPIC: “Targeted delivery of lipid agents and nanoparticles to cancer cells: How to combine chemical reaction equilibrium and physical interactions for biological activity”
Prof. Kenneth Wagener, University of Florida TOPIC: “Using Metathesis to Control Polymer Morphology”
Prof. Todd Emrick, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “Novel nanostructures in composite materials, interfacial science and medicine”
Prof. Malika Jeffries-El, Iowa State University TOPIC: “Teaching Old Polymers New Tricks: Novel conjugated materials based on Benzobisazoles”
SPRING 2010
Prof. Samuel P. Gido, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “Defects, Grain Growth, and Long Range Order in Block Copolymer Nanostructures”
Prof. Ryan C. Hayward U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “Swelling of constrained hydrogels: New approaches to active surfaces and micro-objects”
Prof. Constantine D. Papaspyrides National Technical University of Athens, Greece TOPIC: “Solid State Polymerization in the Polyamide Industry”
Prof. Kris N. Dahl Carnegie Mellon University TOPIC: “In vivo rheology of the cell nucleus”
Prof. Eva Harth Vanderbilt University TOPIC: “Nanomedicine: Functional soft Nanosponges and Molecular Transporter Molecules for the increased Efficacy of Therapeutics and Imaging Devices”
Prof. Kenneth K. S. Lau Drexel University TOPIC:“Engineering Unique Pathways for the Design, Synthesis and Integration of Polymers in Complex Systems”
Prof. Zhigang Suo Harvard University TOPIC: “Soft Active Materials”
Prof. Axel H. E. Mueller University of Bayreuth, Germany/Editor, Polymer TOPIC: “Block Terpolymer Sunrise: The Wondrous World of Block Co- and Terpolymer Micelles”
FALL 2009
Prof. Ting Xu University of California/Berkeley TOPIC: “Directed Hierarchical Assembly in Thin Film: One Piece At A Time”
Prof. Sergiy Minko Clarkson University TOPIC: “Stimuli-Responsive Nanostructured Materials”
Prof. Yonathan S. ThioGeorgia Tech TOPIC: “Blends and composites based on block copolymers: geometry, size, and orientation”
Prof. Andrew Parker University of Oxford (UK) TOPIC: “Optical Biomimetics – structural colour in nature and our early attempts to copy it”
Prof. Chun Wang University of Minnesota/Twin Cities TOPIC: “Polymers for DNA Vaccine Delivery: Novel Materials and Biological Mechanisms”
Prof. James H. Henderson Syracuse Materials Institute TOPIC: “Active Cell Culture”
Prof. Shashi K. Murthy Northeastern University TOPIC: “Microfluidic Cell Separation in Tissue Engineering: Technological Solutions & Basic Science Questions”
SPRING 2009
Prof. Srinivasa R. Raghavan, University of Maryland TOPIC: “Adventures with Soft Matter: From Photorheological Fluids to Blood-Gelling Biopolymers”
Prof. Melik Demirel, Penn State University TOPIC: “Breaking Out of the Mould: Nanostructured Polymer Thin Films”
Prof. Mitchell Anthamatten, University of Rochester, TOPIC: “Physical Properties of Network Polymers Bearing Reversibly Associating Side Groups”
Prof. Klaus Müllen, Director, Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research, TOPIC: “Macromolecules, Assemblies, Particles – A Discovery Journey in Materials Synthesis”
Dr. Christian Franck, Harvard University TOPIC: “Three-Dimensional Quantitative Measurements of Cells in their Surrounding Environment”
Prof. Weihua Marshall Ming, University of New Hampshire TOPIC: “Nature-Inspired Nanostructured Materials: From Super-Repellent Surfaces to Biomimetic Anistropic Particles”
Prof. Alfredo Alexander-Katz, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Dynamics of Polymeric Globules in Flow and the Problem of Blood Clotting”
FALL 2008
Prof. Svetlana Sukishvili, Stevens Institute of Technology TOPIC: “Self-Assembly of Weak Polyelectrolytes at Surfaces and in Solutions”
Prof. Kenneth R. Carter, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC:“Functional Thin Film Polymer Surfaces”
Prof. Jonathan Wilker, Purdue University TOPIC: “Biomaterials at the Beach: Characterization and Synthetic Polymer Mimics of Mussel and Barnacle Adhesives”
Prof. Kevin E. Healy, U.C. Berkeley TOPIC: “Designing Materials That Influence Biology”
Prof. Uwe B. Sleytr, University for Natural Resources and Applied Life Scienes (BOKU) [Vienna, Austria] TOPIC: “S-layer Proteins as Basic Building Blocks for Nanobiotechnological Applications”
Prof. Yu-li Wang, Carnegie Mellon University TOPIC: “The Forces and Shapes of Adherent Cells”
Prof. Kristi L. Kiick, University of Delaware TOPIC: “Manipulating Biological Events with Polysaccharide-Derivatized Materials”
Dr. Jeffrey M. Karp, Instructor, Harvard Medical School, Director, Lab for Advanced Biomaterials and Stem-Cell Based Therapeutics (Brigham and Womens Hospital) TOPIC: “Borrowing Concepts from Nature: Design of Medical Devices and Stem Cell Based Therapeutics”
Prof. Zhibin Guan, U.C. Irvine TOPIC: “Soft Matter Design at Interface with Catalysis and Biology”
SPRING 2008
Prof. Yue Zhao, University of Sherbrooke, Quebec TOPIC: “Designing New Photoactive and Electroactive Materials”
Prof. Andrew Gouldstone, Northeastern University TOPIC: “Indentation to Probe Physiology and Pathology of the Mammalian Lung”
Prof. Abraham Stroock, Cornell University TOPIC: “Engineering Osmotic Stresses in Colloidal Dispersions and Synthetic Trees”
Prof. Thomas J. McCarthy, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “New Views of Wettability”
Prof. David M. Lynn, University of Wisconsin TOPIC: “Ultrathin Multi-layered Assemblies for the Delivery of DNA from Surfaces”
Prof. Christine D. Keating, Penn State University TOPIC: “Dynamic Microcompartmentation in synthetic cells via aqueous phase separation”
Prof. Jinsang Kim, University of Michigan TOPIC: “Self-signaling and Signal Amplifying Conjugated Polymer Biosensors and Sensor Arrays”
Prof. Gregory B. McKenna, Texas Tech University TOPIC: “Mechanical Measurements at the nanometer size scale: Why and what do we learn?”
Prof. Yohei Yokobayashi, U.C. Davis TOPIC: “Engineering RNA to Control Gene Expression”
FALL 2007
Prof. Ilya Zharov, University of Utah TOPIC: “Responsive Nanoporous Organic-Inorganic Colloidal Materials”
Prof. David L. Carroll, Wake Forest University TOPIC: “Novel Approaches to High Efficiency in Organic Photovoltaics”
Prof. Robert A. Weiss, University of Connecticut TOPIC: “The Role of Strong Inter and Intra-Molecular Interactions on the Phase Behavior of Polymer Blends”
Prof. Vladimir Tsukruk, Georgia Tech TOPIC: “Assembling Polymeric Materials for Environmentally Responsive Structures”
Prof. David Weitz, Harvard University TOPIC: “Rheology of Active Biopolymer Networks”
Prof. Timothy J. Deming, U.C. L. A. TOPIC: “Self-Assembly of Block Copolypeptides, The Role of Chain Confirmation”
Prof. Catherine Klapperich, Boston University TOPIC: “Defined Compliant Microenvironments for Live-Cell Labs on a Chip”
Prof. Paul Janmey, U. Penn/Philadelphia TOPIC: “Non-linear rheology of semi-flexible polymer networks: strain stiffening, negative normal stress, and non-affine deformations”
Prof. Sarah Heilshorn, Stanford University TOPIC: “Engineering Protein Polymers for Regenerative Medicine”
Dr. Richard A. Vaia, U. S. Air Force Research Lab TOPIC: “Responsive Polymer NanoComposites”
SPRING 2007
Prof. Andre F. Palmer, Ohio State University TOPIC: “Engineering Novel Oxygen Therapeutics”
Dr. Patrick T. Spicer, Procter & Gamble Co. TOPIC: “Crystal Comets: Dewetting during Emulsion Droplet Crystallization”
Prof. John A. Rogers, University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign TOPIC: “Polymers for Nanofabrication: 3-D Structures and Molecular Scale Resolution”
Prof. Marc A. Hillmyer, University of Minnesota/Twin Cities TOPIC: “Self-Assembly of Multicomponent Block Co-Polymers in Dilute Solution”
Prof. Anna C. Balazs, University of Pittsburgh TOPIC: “Harnessing Patterning in Polymeric Materials: From Creating Defect-free Devices to Sorting Damaged Cells”
Prof. Michael Rubinstein, University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill TOPIC: “Molecular Model of the Airway Surface Layer of a Lung”
Prof. Mark M. Holl, University of Michigan/Ann Arbor TOPIC: “Quantitative Studies of Multivalent Polymers Designed for Targetted Delivery”
Prof. Paul Buckley, University of Oxford (UK) TOPIC: “Plastic Deformation in Glassy Polymers: The Quest to Understand and Model its ‘Molecular Awareness’ ”
Prof. Timothy P. Lodge, University of Minnesota/Twin Cities TOPIC: “Dynamics of Miscible Polymer Blends”
Prof. Alyssa Panitch, Purdue University TOPIC: “Polysaccharides, Controlled Release and Repair of the Central Nervous System”
FALL 2006
Prof. Phillip B. Messersmith, Northwestern University TOPIC: “Mussel Adhesive Proteins: Adhesive Mechanisms and Synthetic Polymer Mimics”
Prof Yong L. Joo, Cornell University TOPIC: “Nanostructured Nanofibers: From Metal Oxide Inclusion to Confined Self-Assembly”
Prof. Alfred J. Crosby, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “Nature’s Instabilities: Inspiring Materials Design and Characterization”
Prof. Christopher K. Ober, Cornell University TOPIC: “Lithography and Biology: Made for Each Other”
PPST 20th Anniversary Poster Competition 1st Prize Winners:Minglin Ma (Jr. Div. Winner) TOPIC: “Nanostructured Electrospun Fibers: From Superhydrophobicity to Block Copolymer Self-Assembly” AND Daeyeon Lee (Sr. Div. Winner) TOPIC: “Stimuli-Responsive Polymer Thin Films from Polyelectrolyte Multilayers: From Hysteretic gating of membranes to magnetic nanotubes”
Prof. Jeffrey Pyun, University of Arizona TOPIC: “Polymer Encapsulated Magnetic Nanoparticles: Novel Building Blocks for Mesoscale Assembly”
Prof. Ka Yee Lee, University of Chicago TOPIC: “Effects of Biopolymers on the Collapse in Lung Surfactant Monolayer”
Prof. Shelley Anna, Carnegie Mellon University TOPIC: “Picoliter Droplet Reactors via Microscale Tipstreaming”
SPRING 2006
Prof. Gregory A. Sotzing, University of Connecticut TOPIC: “Processing OpticallyTransparent and Electrochromic Conductive Polymers”
Prof. Krystyn J. Van Vliet, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Chemomechanical Mapping of Biopolymers and Cells”
Prof. Molly S. Shoichet, University of Toronto TOPIC: “Designer Polymers for Tissue Engineering and Axonal Guidance”
Prof. Gary W. Slater, University of Ottawa TOPIC: “The Physics fo End-Labeled Free Solution Electrophoresis: Towards DNA Sequencing Without a Gel Matrix”
Prof. John M. Torkelson, Northwestern University TOPIC: “Nanoscale Confinement Leads to Dramatic Property Changes in Polymer Films and Nanocomposites: Fluorescence Studies of Glass Transition Temperature and Physical Aging”
Prof. Stephen H. Foulger, Clemson University TOPIC:“Crystalline Colloidal Arrays: Multifunctional Materials”
Prof. Mohan Srinivasarao, Georgia Tech TOPIC: “On the Formation of an Ordered Array of Holes in a Polymer Film: What can Dew Formation Teach Us?”
Prof. Dan Luo, Cornell University TOPIC: “Nucleic Acid Engineering: Using DNA as a Generic Instead of a Genetic Material”
Prof. Joseph M. DeSimone, University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill TOPIC: “Fluoropolymers for Use in Next Generation Microfluidic Devices, Soft lithographic Techniques, Particle Fabrication and as Proton Exchange Membranes for Use in Fuel Cells”
FALL 2005
OMNOVA Award Presentation and Seminar: Juan A. Gonzalez (Sr. Achievement Award Winner) and Dr. Alireza Khademhosseini (Special Jury Prize Winner)
Dr. Dean M. DeLongchamp, Polymers Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) TOPIC: “Correlating Structure Development to Performance Enhancement in Semi-Conducting Organics”
Prof. Gregory N. Tew, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “Designing Synthetic Macromolecules with Strong Similarities to Biology”
Prof. Mark Dadmun, University of Tennessee TOPIC: “Controlling Dispersion in Multi-component Polymer Systems: Rational Design of Materials with Targeted Properties”
Prof. Mark W. Grinstaff, Boston University TOPIC: “Dendritic Polymers for Medical Applications”
Prof. Eric M. Furst, University of Delaware TOPIC: “Micromechanics and Microrheology: Using Laser Tweezers to StudyComplex Fluid Rheology”
SPRING 2005
Prof. Ashutosh Chilkoti, Duke University TOPIC: “Stimuli Responsive, Recombinant Elastin-like Polypeptides: From Single Molecule Actuators to Elastomeric Hydrogels”
Dr. Andrew Feiring, Senior Research Felllow DuPont Central Research and Development TOPIC: “Development of Fluoropolymer Photoresists for Advanced Semiconductor Chip Manufacture”
Prof. Ravi Kane, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute TOPIC: “Design of Polymeric Therapeutics and Functional Nanomaterials”
Prof. Sergei S. Sheiko, University of North Carolina TOPIC: “Molecular Fluidics”
Prof. Thomas Boland, Clemson University TOPIC: “Drop-on Demand Printing of Cells and Materials for Designer Hybrid Cardiovascular Constructs”
Prof. Robert B. Grubbs, Dartmouth College TOPIC: “ ‘Living’ Radical Polymerization as a Tool for the Preparation of Functional Polymers and Copolymers”
Prof. Kenneth Gall, University of Colorado/Boulder TOPIC: “Shape Memory Polymers”
Dr. Jai A. Pathak, NIST Materials Science and Engineering Center TOPIC: “Rheometry on Complex Fluids in Microfluidic Flows”
Prof. Jeffrey T. Koberstein, Columbia University TOPIC: “Molecular Design of Functional Polymer Surfaces”
FALL 2004
Dr. Martin L. Sentmanat, Senkhar Technologies, LLC TOPIC: “SER Universal Testing Platform: Covering the Broad Spectrum of Physical Material Characterization Technology”
Prof. Tomasz Kowalewski, Carnegie Mellon University TOPIC: “Macromolecular Self-Assembly as a Route to sp2 Carbon Materials with Well-Defined Nanostructure”
Prof. Mario LeClerc, Université Laval (Québec) TOPIC: “Optical and Electrochemical Biosensors Based on DNA/Polythiophene Complexes”
OMNOVA 2004 Co-Winner: Dr. Prem V. Pavoor TOPIC: “Tribological and Mechanical Characterization of Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Nanoassemblies”
Prof. Michael E. Mackay, Michigan State University TOPIC: “Nanotechnology, Polymers and Particles: Do polymeric nanoparticles cause uniquebehavior?”
Prof. Svetlana A. Sukhishvili, Stevens Institute of Technology TOPIC: “Self-Assembly of Weak Polyelectrolytes at Surfaces and in Solutions”
Dr. Michael J. Fasolka, NIST TOPIC: “Polymer Research at the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center”
Prof. L. Andrew Lyon, Georgia Tech TOPIC: “Microgels in Optics and Biology”
SPRING 2004
Dr. Orhun Muratoglu, Mass General Hospital TOPIC: “Improving the Wear and Fatigue Strength of UHMWPE for Total Joint Prostheses”
Prof. David V. Boger, University of Melbourne (Australia) TOPIC: “Ideal Elastic Liquids and Their Impact in the Development of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics”
Prof. Joey L. Mead, U. Mass/Lowell TOPIC: “Phase Morphology of Electrospun Nanofibers from Polymer Blends”
Dr. Melissa Mahoney, U. Colorado/Boulder TOPIC: “Synthetic Microenvironments for Neural Transplantation”
Prof. Eyal Zussman, Technion (Israel) TOPIC: “Development of Nano-Structures by Electrospinning”
Prof. Nicholas A. Peppas, U. Texas/Austin TOPIC: “Intelligent Polymer Networks in Protein Delivery and Molecular Recognition”
Prof. E. Bryan Coughlin, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Hybrid Inorganic-Organic Copolymers Based Upon Cubic Silsesquioxanes”
Prof. David W.M. Marr, Colorado School of Mines TOPIC: “Field-Based Colloidal Manipulation for Microfluidics and Photonics”
OMNOVA 2003 Award Winner: Michael C. Berg TOPIC: “Biological Applications for Polyelectrolyte Multilayers”
Prof. Frank S. Bates, U. Minnesota TOPIC: “Network Phases: A Lesson in Block Co-Polymer Self-Assembly?”
Prof. Nina C. Shapley, Columbia University TOPIC: “Nonuniform Distributions of Particulates in Complex Flows: Characterization by NMR Imaging”
FALL 2003
Prof. George Malliaris, Cornell University TOPIC: “Organic Semiconductors and Devices”
Prof. Jeffrey D. Carbeck, Princeton University TOPIC: “Why are proteins charged molecules? The role of electrostatics in the stability, activity and processing of proteins.”
Prof. Karen K. Gleason, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Polymeric Nanocoatings by Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition”
Prof. Eugenia Kumacheva, University of Toronto TOPIC: “Polymer Nanostructured Materials: New Routes to Development”
Prof. Peter Green, University of Texas/Austin TOPIC: “Wetting and Nano-scale Organization of a Structured Liquid Film”
Prof. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, University of Houston TOPIC “Polymer Nanocomposites”
Prof. Anthony Guiseppi-Elie, Virginia Commonwealth University TOPIC: “Electroconductive Hydrogels: “Bio-Smart” Polymers in Biosensors and Biochips”
OMNOVA AWARD WINNER: Jeri’ Ann Hiller TOPIC: “PH-Gated Porosity and Reversible Swelling”
Dr. Barry L. Farmer, USAFRL Wright-Patterson AFB TOPIC: “Coarse Grain Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Formation of Polymer Nanocomposites”
SPRING 2003
Prof. Hanadi Sleiman, McGill University TOPIC: “Self-Assembly of DNA and Biomimetic Polymers”
Prof. Patrick T. Mather, University of Connecticut TOPIC: “Hybrid polymers incorporating POSS: Unique microstructures for Unique properties”
Prof. Chistopher K. Ober, Cornell University TOPIC: “New Routes to Two and Three Dimensional Patterned Structures Using Advanced Lithography”
Prof. Alan J. Lesser, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Studies on the Yield and Fracture Behavior of Glassy Polymers in Constrained Stress States”
Dr. Steven Hudson, NIST TOPIC: “Coalescence Efficiency in Flowing Emulsions”
Prof. Darrin J. Pochan, University of Delaware TOPIC: “Environmentally Responsive Materials Constructed via Peptidic Molecule Folding and Self-Assembly”
Prof. Joyce Wong, Boston University TOPIC: “The Importance Of Ligand Presentation: From Flexible Tethers To Compliant Gels”
FALL 2002
OMNOVA AWARD SEMINAR: Dr. Xueping Jiang, duPont TOPIC: “Chemistry Directed Assembly of Multilayered Polymer Thin Filmsand Colloidal Particles”
Prof. Marcel Utz, University of Connecticut TOPIC: “Complex Morphologies and Their Characterization by Two-Point Correlation Functions”
Prof. Richard R. Schrock, MIT Chemistry TOPIC: “Catalysts for the Living Polymerization of Ordinary Olefins”
Dr. Mark R. van Landingham, NIST TOPIC: “Characterizing Polymer Viscoelasticity UsingDepth-Sensing Indentation”
Prof. Christopher N. Bowman, University of Colorado TOPIC: “Novel Photopolymerization Methods and Their Exploitation for Emerging Applications”
Prof. Rastislav Levicky, Columbia University TOPIC: “Directed Organization of Nanoparticles by Ultrathin Polymer Films”
Prof. Marc A. Hillmyer, University of Minnesota TOPIC: “Reactive Block Copolymers as Nanoporous Material Precursors”
Prof. Darrell J. Irvine, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Using Polymers for Bioengineering in the Immune System”
SPRING 2002
Prof. Helmut H. Strey, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “DNA Diffusion Observed in a Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Array”
Dr. Shu Yang, Lucent Technologies TOPIC: “Microphotonics and block copolymer templated organosilicates”
Dr. Zhenan Bao, Lucent Technologies TOPIC: “Conjugated Oligomers and Polymers for Plastic and Molecular Electronics”
Prof. Suzanne Giasson, Visiting Faculty Boston University TOPIC: “Static and Dynamic Interactions between Polyelectrolyte-coated Surfaces in Aqueous Medium”
Prof. Annelise Barron, Northwestern University TOPIC: “Biomimetic polymer engineering: Creating Non-Natural Protein Mimics for a Synthetic Lung Surfactant Replacement”
Prof. Hervé Marand, Virginia Tech TOPIC: “A Model of Polymer Secondary Crystallization: A Possible Link with Physical Aging Above Tg”
Prof. Jan Genzer, North Carolina State Unversity TOPIC: “Formation and properties of multi-functional surfaces prepared via ‘forced assembly’ of oligomers and polymers”
Prof. Michael Marsella, University of California/Irvine TOPIC: “Designing Functional Polymers from Shape-Changing Monomers”
OMNOVA SEMINARS:AWARD WINNER: Dr. Amy Grayson TOPIC: “A Resorbable Polymeric Microreservoir Device for Drug Delivery”OMNOVA PRESENTER: Dr. Richard Thomas TOPIC: “The Synthesis, Characterization, and Unusual Surface Activity of a Series of Novel Architecture, Water Dispersible Poly(fluoroxetane)s”
Prof. Antony N. Beris, University of Delaware TOPIC: “Probing the Polymer Structure-Dynamics Relation Through a Turbulent Flow Field: Direct Numerical Simulations of Polymer-Induced Drag Reduction”
Prof. Patrick S. Doyle, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Dynamics of Single Polymers and Biomolecules Under Forces and Fields”
Prof. Robert M. Briber, University of MarylandTOPIC: “Characterization of Nanoporous Ultralow Dielectrics”
FALL 2001
Prof. Peter Dvornic, Michigan Molecular Institute
Prof. Ruolf Faust, U. Mass./Lowell
Prof. Uli Weisner, Cornell University
Prof. Dilhan Kalyon, Stevens Institute of Technology
Prof. Wesley Burghardt, Northwestern University
SPRING 2001
Prof. Daniel Read, University of Leeds (UK) TOPIC: “Molecular Rheology and Statistics of Long Chain Branched Metallocene-Catalysed Polyolefins”
Dr. R. Shashidhar, Naval Research Laboratory TOPIC: “Siloxane-based Liquid Crystals – A Paradigm for Molecular Engineering of Materials”
Dr. Craig Hawker, IBM-Almaden TOPIC: “Synthesis and Fabrication of Nanostructured Materials – Application to the Next Generation of Computers”
Prof. Ken Wagener, University of Florida TOPIC: “Crystalline Polyolefins Bearing Amino Acids”
Prof. Nam Suh, MIT MechE TOPIC: “Microcellular Plastics”
Dr. Bruce Smart, duPont TOPIC: “The Design of Amphorous Fluoroplastics”
Prof. Ian Manners, University of TorontoTOPIC: “Supramolecular Organometallic Polymer Chemistry: Self-Assembly of Polyferrocenes”
Dr. Gary Wnek, Virginia Commonwealth University TOPIC: “Thinking Small About Old Polymers at the Medicine/Engineering Interface”
FALL 2000
Prof. Kenneth J. Beers, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Topics from the Intersection of Polymer Chemistry and Physics”
Prof. Jinsang Kim, University of Michigan
Mitchell Anthamatten, PhD Candidate, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Order in Side-Chain Liquid Crystalline Diblock Copolymers”
Prof. Susan Muller, University of Caliornia/Berkeley TOPIC: “Experimental Insights into Complex Flows of Polymeric Liquids”
Prof. Peter Kofinas, University of Maryland TOPIC: “Self-Assembled Functional Nanostructures Within Block Copolymer Templates”
Prof. David Kaplan, Tufts University TOPIC: “Fibrous Protein Assembly-Silk as a Model System”
Prof. Karen Wooley, Washington University TOPIC: “Nanoscale Constructs: The Preparation, Characterization, and Manipulation of Shell Crosslinked Nanoparticles”
Dr. George Lemieux, University of California/Berkeley TOPIC: “Exploring Oligosaccharide Biosynthetic Promiscuity to Modulate Cell Surface Recognition”
SPRING 2000
Dr. John Barnes, NIST TOPIC: “Temperature Induced Contrast Variation in Small Angle Scattering”
Prof. Thomas Russell, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “Electric Field Alignment:From the Micro to Nano”
Dr. Richard Vaia, U.S.A.F. Research Laboratory TOPIC: “Mesoscopic Structure of Polymer-Inorganic Nanocomposites: Impact on Chain Behavior and Physical Properties”
Prof. Steve Granick, University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign TOPIC: “Polymers at Aqueous Interfaces”
Prof. Chris Scott, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Multiphase Flow in Polymer Processing”
Y. Michael Shin, PhD Candidate, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Electrostatic Spinning of Ultrafine Fibers – A Novel Microprocessing Technique”
FALL 1999
Anne Ruzette, PhD Candidate DMSE TOPIC: “Controlling Bulk Thermodynamics of Block Copolymers”
Prof. Richard Register, Princeton University TOPIC: “Block Copolymer Thin Films as Nanolithography Templates”
Prof. James Watkins, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Preparation of Nanostructures Materials in Supercritical Fluids”
Mark Spilker, PhD Candidate MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Collagen-Glycosaminoglycan Materials for Medical Applications”
Prof. Adi Eisenberg, McGill University TOPIC: “Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Diblocks in Solution: Thermodynamics, Kinetics and Mechanism in a Morphological Wonderland”
Prof. Nitash Balsara, Polytechnic University (Brooklyn, NY) TOPIC: “Early Stages of Nucleation in Polymer Mixtures”
Prof. H. Potente, Institut für Kunststofftechnik/University of Paderborn TOPIC: “Process Simulation of Tightly Intermeshing Co-Rotating Twin Screw Extruders”
Dr. Lewis J. Fetters, Exxon TOPIC: “The Importance of Unperturbed Polymer Chain Dimensions”
Prof. Karen Gleason, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Fluorocarbon Polymer Films by Chemical Vapor Deposition”
Prof. Christine Ortiz, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Measuring Intra- and Inter- Molecular Interactions in Macromolecules Using High Resolution Force Spectroscopy Techniques”
SPRING 1999
Prof. Michael F. Rubner, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Layer-by-Layer Molecular-Level Blending of Polyelectrolytes: Opportunities for Surface Modification and Light Emitting Devices”
Prof. Douglas L. Gin, University of California/Berkeley TOPIC: “Functional, Nanostructured Materials via the Polymerization of Liquid Crystal Assemblies”
Vanessa Z. Chan, PhD Candidate, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Ceramic Nanostructures from Block Copolymer Precursors”
Prof. Samuel P. Gido, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “Controlling Morphology and Long Range Order with Graft Copolymer Molecular Architecture”
Prof. Anthony J. McHugh, University of Illinois TOPIC: “Flow-Induced Crystallization of Polymers – Experiment and Modeling”
Dr. Chris Barrett, MIT TOPIC: “Adsorption of Polyelectrolytes: Layers and Multilayers”
Prof. Mark M. Green, Brooklyn Polytechnic TOPIC: “Chirality in Polymer Science: From the One-Dimensional Ising Model to the Restrictive Cooperativity of the Glassy State”
Prof. Thomas J. McCarthy, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “New Approaches to Polymer and Surface Modification”
Prof. Emmanuel Giannelis, Cornell University TOPIC: “Structure and Dynamics of Polymer Nanocomposites”
Prof. Haskell Beckham, Georgia Tech TOPIC: “Phase Structure and Dynamics of Polyrotaxanes”
FALL 1998
Prof. Bernhard Lotz, Institiut Charles Sadron, CNRS-ULPTOPIC: “Sturcture and Morphology of Crystalline Polymer: from unit cell to spherulite structure”
Prof. Sukant Tripathy, U. Mass/Lowell TOPIC: “Unusual Light Driven Polymer Mass Transport and What To Do With It”
Prof. Claus D. Eisenbach, University of Stuttgart TOPIC: “Perpspectives of Ion Interactions in Macromolecular Systems for Novel Polymer Materials”
Prof. Dan Lacks, Tulane University TOPIC: “Molecular-level Mechanical Instabilities in the Polymer Crystals, Glasses, and Melts”
Prof. Fred McGarry, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Toughening of Rigid Silicone Resins”
Prof. Gareth H. McKinley, MIT MechE TOPIC: “Extensional Rheometry of Polymer Solutions and the Uniaxial Elongation of Viscoelastic Filaments (or why some fluids are stickier than others!)”
Erik Handy, PhD Candidate, MIT Chemistry TOPIC: “Light-Emitting Polyurethanes Based on Tris(bipyridyl)ruthenium(II): Synthesis and Devices”
Prof. Paul Nealey, University of Wisconsin TOPIC: “The Morphology of Thin Films of Block Copolymers on self-assembled monolayers patterened with x-ray lithography”
Dr. Phil Jacoby, Amoco
SPRING 1998
Prof. Jeffrey T. Koberstein, University of ConnecticutTOPIC:“Molecular Design of Polymeric Surface Delivery Vehicles”
Prof. Virgil Percec, Case Western University TOPIC: “Constructing a Polymer Science Made of Visible Chains Acting as Individual Complex Functional Systems”
Prof. G. Julius Vancso, University of Twente TOPIC: “Polymers with Ferrocene in the Main Chain: Structure and Properties”
Prof. Ioannis Yannas, MIT MechE TOPIC: “Biologically Active Networks: Analogs of Extracellular Matrix”
Prof. Ali S. Argon, MIT MechE TOPIC: “Making Brittle Polymers Tough by the Scientific Method”
Prof. Morton Denn, University of California/Berkeley TOPIC: “The No-Slip Boundary Condition and Polymer Processing Instabilities”
Dr. Sudhakar Balijepalli, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Molecular Simulation of Semi-crystalline Polymer Interphases”
Ms. Benita Dair, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Deformation Behavior of the Cubic Double Gyroid Phase in Elastometric Triblock Copolymers”
Prof. M. Muthukumar, U. Mass/Amherst TOPIC: “Collective Diffusion of Polyelectrolytes: Ordinary-Extraordinary Transition”
Prof. Phillip H. Geil, University of Illinois TOPIC: “Low Temperature Condensation Polymerization-Crystallization: Morphology and Mechanism”
FALL 1997
Prof. Richard R. Schrock, MIT Chemistry TOPIC: “Terminal Olefins by Group 4 Metal Complexes that contain Diamido/Donor Ligands”
Prof. Paul Buckley, University of Oxford (UK) TOPIC: “Orientation Processing of Poly(ethylene terephthalate): steps towards a physically-based three-dimensional constitutive model”
Prof. Alan A. Jones, Clark University TOPIC: “Xenon-129 NMR as a Probe of Structure and Transport in Polymers”
Prof. Michael Paulaitis, Johns Hopkins University TOPIC: “CO2-Enhanced Diffusion in Polymer Glasses. An Experimental Study Using Forced Rayleigh Scattering”
Prof. Edwin L. Thomas, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Diamonds, Stars, and the ABC’s of Mesoscopic Assembly”
Dr. Sai Kumar, Amoco TOPIC: “Probing Molecular Orientation in Polypropylene by Brillouin Scattering”
Prof. Eric Baer, Case Western Reserve University TOPIC “Polymer Microlayered Composites”
Darrell Irvine, PhD Candidate MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Control of Cell Behavior via Polymer Surface Engineering”
SPRING 1997
Prof. David Martin, University of Michigan TOPIC: “Micromechanics of Deformation in Oriented Fibers, Crystals and Bicrystals”
Janelle Gunther, PhD Candidate MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Defects in Liquid Crystal Polymers: Their Origin and Behavior in Magnetic and Flow Fields”
Prof. Warren Baker, Queen’s University TOPIC: “Process Modeling and Performance of Graft Modified Polymers Prepared in a Twin Screw Extruder”
Dr. Carl Zimba, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Characterization of Polymer Films Using Chemical Imaging Techniques”
Prof. Norbert Auner, University of Berlin TOPIC: “Organosilicon Chemistry: from Molecules to Materials”
Prof. Sanat Kumar, Pennsylvania State UniversityTOPIC: “Phase Transitions in Thin Polymer Mixtures”
Prof. Buckley Crist, Northwestern University TOPIC: “Thermodynamics of Polyolefin Melt Blends: A Personal Perspective”
Dr. Ravi S. Kane, PhD Candidate MIT ChemETOPIC: “Doped ZnS Nanoclusters Synthesized within Diblock Copolymer Films”
Prof. Tim Swager, MIT Chemistry TOPIC: “Combining Molecular Recognition and Conducting Polymers: Supramolecular Assemblies and Sensory Materials”
FALL 1996
Prof. Michael Grunze, University of Heidelberg TOPIC: “Experimental and Monte Carlo Studies of Self-Assembled Monolayers”
Prof. Paula T. Hammond, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Smectic C* Side Chain Liquid Crystalline Block Copolymers: Synthesis and Characterization”
Prof. Barry L. Farmer, University of Virginia TOPIC:“Molecular Modeling of Siloxane-based Side Chain Liquid Crystalline Polymers”
Prof. Hatsua Ishida, Case Western Reserve University TOPIC: TBA
Prof. Alexander Grosberg, MIT TOPIC: “Recent Advances in the Theory of Proteins and Heteropolymeric Gels: Kinetics”
Prof. Anna C. Balazs, University of Pittsburgh TOPIC: “Modeling the Interfacial Behavior of Polymeric Systems”
Prof. John Reynolds, University of Florida TOPIC:“Variable Band Gap Conjugated Polymers for Luminescent and Electrochromic Applications”
Prof. Mark Ediger, University of Wisconsin TOPIC: “Translational and Rotational Motion of Low Molecular Weight Species in Amorphous Polymers: Are Local Segmental Dynamics Spatially Heterogeneous Near Tg?”
Prof. Gregory C. Rutledge, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Thermomechanical Properties of Polymers from Molecular Modeling”
SPRING 1996
Dr. Jan Noolandi, Xerox Canada TOPIC: “Ordered Structures in Water-Soluble Polymers”
Prof. Antony N. Beris, University of Delaware TOPIC: “Direct Numerical Simulation of Polymer-Induced Drag Reduction in Turbulent Channel Flow”
Prof. Arup Chakraborty, University of California/Berkeley TOPIC: “Interfacial Behavior in Random Heteropolymers”
Prof. Sam Jenekhe, University of Rochester TOPIC: “Supramolecular and Nanostructured Polymer Systems”
Prof. Paul E. Laibinis, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Applications of Self-Assembling Monolayers for Designing Polymers and Tailoring Polymer/Metal Interactions”
Dr. Robert Kumpf, Bayer Corp. TOPIC: “Recent Trends and Challenges for Industrial Polymer Research”
Prof. Linda Griffith, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Polymeric Materials to Control Cell and Tissue Morphogenesis”
Prof. Frank Karasz, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Simulating Polymer Surface Phenomena”
Prof. Milton Harris, University of Alabama TOPIC: TBA
Dr Steve Lustig, duPont TOPIC: “Continuum Thermodynamics and Transport Theory for Solvent Diffusion in Polymers”
Prof. Tobin Marks, Northwestern University TOPIC: TBA
1994-95 NO RECORD
FALL 1993
Prof. Linda Cima, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Polymers for Tissue Engineering”
Prof. Gareth H. McKinley, Harvard University TOPIC: “Sprial Instability in Visometric Flows of Highly Elastic Polymer Materials”
Prof. John Hearle, University of Manchester TOPIC: “Understanding and Control of Textile Fiber Structure”
Prof. Chris Macosko, University of Minnesota TOPIC: “Interfacial Reactions for Polymer Melt Blending”
Prof. Frank Karasz, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Electroluminescence of Conjugated Polymers”
Prof. David Needham, Duke University TOPIC: “Stealth Engineering to Evade the Body’s Defenses”
Peter Zuber, General Electric Plastics TOPIC: “Industrial Polymer Processing Overview”
Prof. Robert C. Armstrong, MIT ChemE TOPIC: “Kinetic Theory and Rheology of Inhomogenous Polymer Solutions”
Jeffrey D. Carbeck, PhD Candidate, MIT DMSE TOPIC: “Conformational Defect Structures and Kinematics in Crystalline Polymers”
Prof. Kuo K. Wang, Cornell University TOPIC: “Computer Aided Engineering for Injection Molding of Polymers”
FALL 1992 and earlier
Dr. Kenneth Shull, IBM Almaden TOPIC: “Interfacial Properties of Polymer Melts”
Dr. Boris Rosenberg, Institute of Chemical Physics, USSR Academy of Sciences TOPIC: “The Peculiarities of Structure and Properties of Thin Surface Layers of Amorphous Polymers in the Glassy State”
Dr. Igor Sokolik, Visiting Scientist, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Photophysics of Conjugated Polymers: Magnetic Field Effect Technique to Study Polaron Pairs”
Dr. Andrew Ouderkirk, 3M Corporation TOPIC: “Polymer Surface Modification”
Prof. Edward J. Kramer, Cornell University TOPIC: “Block Copolymers at Interfaces”
Dr. Yu K. Godovsky, Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry, Moscow TOPIC: “Interrelation of Phase Separation, Crystallization and Glass Transformation in Polymer Blends and Block Copolymers”
Prof. Hiroyuki Nishide, Waseda University (Tokyo) TOPIC: “Facilitated Oxygen Transport Through Heme-Polymer Membranes”
Dr. Anthony Allegrezza, Millipore Corporation TOPIC: “Manufacturing of Synthetic Polymer Membranes”
Prof. Vladimir Fridkin, Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow TOPIC: “Photoelectric and Photorefractive Properties of Ferroelectric Copolymers”
Prof. Alan J. Waddon, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “The Effect of Chain Folding on the Morphology of Solution-Grown Crystals of Poly(ether ketone) (PEK): A Comparison between the Chain Folded Polymer and Chain Extend Oligomers”
Dr. Dieter Horn, BASF TOPIC: “Recent Developments in the Preparation and Characterization of Sub-Microdisperse Organic Hydrosols”
Dr. Robert Luise, duPont TOPIC: “Liquid Crystalline Polyesters”
Prof. Takeji Hashimoto, Kyoto University TOPIC: “Time and Evolution of Interfacial Structure in the Self-Assembly of Polymer Blends via Spinodal Decomposition”
Prof. Richard Farris, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Determination of the State of Stress and Elasticity Coefficients of Thin Polymer Coatings”
Prof. Malcolm Mackley, Cambridge University TOPIC: “The Rheology of Polymers”
Prof. Christopher K. Ober, Cornell University TOPIC: “Liquid Crystalline Polymers”
Prof. Yoshiharu Doi, Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan TOPIC: “Production and Properties of New Bacterial Copolyesters”
Prof. Robert G. Gilbert, Sydney University (Australia) TOPIC: “Free Radical Polymerization Kinetics”
Prof. Bernhard Lotz, CNRS-ULP Strasbourg France TOPIC: “Microstructural Investigations of Srystalline Bio-and Synthetic Polymers”
Prof. Yachin Cohen, Technion Haifa, Israel TOPIC: “Gelation and Crystallization in Polymer Solutions”
Prof. Claus D. Eisenbach, University of Bayreuth, Germany TOPIC: “Supermolecular Struture in Polyurethanes”
Dr. J. M. Guenet, CNRS, Strasbourg, France TOPIC: “Thermoreversible Gelation of Poly(vinyl chloride)”
Prof. Jim Carothers, Purdue University
Dr. John T. Bendler, General Electric R & D TOPIC: “Relaxation Recovery, and Conformational Transitions in Glassy Polymers”
Dr. James H. Aubert, Sandia National Laboratory TOPIC: “Microcellular Foams Prepared by Phase-Separation”
Prof. John A. Nairn, University of Utah TOPIC: “Fracture Mechanics of Composites Using the Shear Lab Model”
Dr. Robert A. Bubeck, Dow Chemical TOPIC: “Real Time Small Angle X-Ray Scattering Studies of Tensile Impact of Polymers”
Dr. Samuel A. Safran, Exxon Research TOPIC: “Aggregation of Surfactant and Polymers in Solution”
Prof. Michael Grunze, U. of Maine, Physics TOPIC: “Formation and Adhesion of Vapor Deposited Ultra Thin Polyimide Films on Metal Surfaces”
Dr. Flonnie Dowell, Theoretical Div/Los Alamos National Lab TOPIC: “Theories for Partially-Ordered Polymers in Phases”
Dr. Jerry T. Seitz, Polymer Materials, Dow Chemical TOPIC: “Physical Properties of Polymers Based Upon Molecular Dimensions”
Prof. John L. Schrag, University of WisconsinTOPIC: “Three Talks on Solution Behavior of Polymers”
Prof. H. H. Kausch, Ecole Polytechnique TOPIC: “Materials Chain Extension in Flowing Media”
Dr. Hans F. Hespe, Mobay Chemical, Central R&DTOPIC: “Mircrophase Formation in Aqueous of Block Copolyethers”
Prof. Randall W. Richards, U. Mass./Amherst TOPIC: “Small Angle Neutron Scattering Investigations of Polydimethyl siloxane/Polystyrene Interpenetrating Networks”
Dr. Andrzej Ziabicki, Inst. Fund. Techn., Warsaw
Prof. Alex Silberberg, Weizmann Institute (Israel)
Prof. Jerome H. Weiner, Brown University TOPIC: “Excluded Volume Effects in Rubber Elasticity”
Dr. Owen Webster, duPont Central R & D TOPIC: “Recent Advances in the Controlled Synthesis of Acrylic Polymers by Group Transfer Polymerization”
Dr. Frank S. Bates, A T & T Bell Laboratories TOPIC: “Critical Phenomena in Polymer Melts”
Prof. Sukant Tripathy, U. Mass/Lowell
Dr. D. Sogah, duPont Central R & D TOPIC: “Macromolecular Engineering in Silicon-Mediated Polymerizations”
Dr. Yacov Kantor, Harvard University TOPIC: “Statics and Dynamics of Sheet Polymers”
Dr. Do Y. Yoon, IBM Corporation Polymer Physics TOPIC: “Ordering in Semi-Flexible Liquid Crystalline Polymers”
Prof. Virgil Percec, Case Western University TOPIC: “New Trends in the Synthesis of Liquid Crystalline Polymers”
Prof. Syed Qutubuddin, Case Western University TOPIC: “Microemulsions-Some Fundamentals and Application to Polymers and Separation”
Dr. Ian M. Ward, University of Leeds (UK)
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