Research Description:

Our group is passionate about addressing pressing needs in both human health and the health of the planet, and inspired by the integrated, hierarchical materials ubiquitously leveraged by the natural world. We aim to address these needs via synthetic systems that use a combination of molecular level polymer design, controlled local self-assembly, and structural integration and alignment via additive manufacturing to achieve functional, hierarchical materials featuring structural control from the molecular to the macroscopic.

We achieve this by working at the intersection of polymer synthesis, polymer characterization, polymer physics and self-assembly, and additive manufacturing.
Our specific research interests include: (1) investigating fundamental science linking polymer structure and function in new classes of stimuli-responsive and actuating elastomers and gels, (2) programming alignment and integration of functional polymers via additive manufacturing, linking local structure-directing processes with emergent properties and new applications, and (3) developing sustainable and degradable polymers and block copolymers.