(3bc) Molecular Engineering of Soft Matter Systems from Single Molecules to Hierarchically Assembled Functional Materials

Research Interests: In Nature, through millions of years of trial-and-error evolution, highly tuned biological systems have emerged that far exceed the capabilities of man-made systems, e.g., self-healing and self-assembling systems, fault-tolerant neuronal computation, and excellent lubrication in joints. Nature’s ingenuity is based on its highly cooperative ability to assemble hierarchically interconnected biomaterial systems all relying on soft intermolecular forces and interactions acting, predominantly, at material interfaces. Bottom-up approaches that tailor these soft interactions have brought forward a diverse set of engineered materials with biomimetic function. My research interests lie in the rational engineering of self-assembling soft matter systems guided by molecular fundamentals elucidated from nanoscale experimental and computational interrogations. By harnessing the capabilities of molecular self-assembly across multiple length and time scales I aim to develop functional materials with properties rivaling those of naturally occurring systems. Of particular interest is the development of multicomponent materials and interfaces (DNA, peptide/protein, polymeric, etc.) with dynamic and triggerable self-assembly to impart functionalities such as sensing, memory, and catalysis. My long-term goal is the coherent and seamless integration of such macromolecular assemblies with man-made systems for the fabrication of hybrid devices and technologies for biosensing, bio-catalysis and bio-enabled electronics.

Research Experience: My research training has been multidisciplinary in nature. Prior to my graduate training, I obtained extensive research experience designing and testing spatiotemporal DNA nanotube assemblies in Prof. Rebecca Schulman’s Dynamic and Adaptive Biomolecular Materials Lab at Johns Hopkins University. Through graduate training in Molecular Engineering, my fundamental knowledge has been extended beyond Chemical Engineering to include the intersections of Bioengineering, Materials Sciences, Biochemistry, and Biophysics. During my graduate training at the University of Washington in Prof. René Overney’s NanoScience Lab, the material scope of my research was widened to include peptides that self-assemble at 2D inorganic interfaces. In my on-going research, I have successfully implemented molecular engineering principles to rationally design peptides with predictable assembly structures and binding energies. Specifically, through the dual application of molecular dynamics and unique nanoscopic soft matter characterizations partially developed during my PhD, I interrogated the impact of environmental parameters and sequence on aqueous peptide conformation, surface binding and assembly. Throughout my PhD, I have gained proficiency in scanning probe microscopy (SPM) characterizations, enhanced sampling molecular dynamics techniques, as well as designing and synthesizing peptides.

Teaching Interests: As the lines between traditional engineering fields continue to blur, specifically for emerging technologies, interdisciplinary aspects involving Nanoscience and Molecular Engineering (NME) become essential aspects in our educational programs starting at the undergraduate (UG) level to prepare students for the demands of our future workforce. The University of Washington has spearheaded the incorporation of NME into the core UG Chemical Engineering program. During my PhD, I have had the opportunity to take active part as teaching assistant (TA) in the incorporation and development of NME specific courses, as well as classical Chemical Engineering transport courses in the graduate program. As future faculty, my intent is to further refine my experiences and weave NME principles throughout my teaching so students can tackle problems currently insufficiently addressed by mere phenomenological approaches, for instance interfacial diffusion and reactions. This will include besides theoretical classroom teaching, hands-on experimental and computational module development. My aim is to lead a lab that facilitates an environment in which undergraduates can develop their research experience and cultivate technical skills critical for industry or academia. Based on personal experience, hands-on individual UG research experience greatly informs related course material and the professional interests of the student. Additionally, as I have learned from mentoring six undergraduates and two master’s students, this emphasis on UG research gives graduate students valuable experience leading student research, thus, better preparing them for their future research careers.

Future Directions: As future faculty, my research plan is two-fold: (1) To develop and implement novel molecular and nanoscale characterizations of soft matter systems based on energetic analysis of mechanical scattering to quantitatively describe the molecular interactions dictating the molecular self-assembly and macroscopic properties and (2) to utilize tailored interactions and directed self-assembly properties to develop functional material systems. Building upon my on-going research, I aim to capitalize on and control the vast configurational phase space of short peptides and their surface recognition capabilities to develop stimuli-responsive surface functionalizations and biomolecular nano-mosaics with applications in sensing and nano-bioreactors. Additionally, I intend to combine my experience with various self-assembling systems to develop unique hybrid biomolecular materials that harness the nanoscale specificity of DNA and the dynamic and catalytic functions that peptides processes. Despite the current low-throughput nature of SPM characterizations, I will adapt said techniques to enable the generation of large, high quality datasets to be used for machine learning approaches for the design of self-assembling systems. While my current research focuses on characterizing surface assemblies and interactions, my future research plan entails extending the molecular analysis to the near surface boundary regime and bridging the divide between 2D and 3D assembling materials. The molecular engineering of intermolecular interactions and transport phenomena within this dimensionally confined layer allows for immense control over the hierarchical assembly and function of hybrid systems with implications to emerging technologies, such as, directed nucleation and organization of nanomaterials, tailored sensing, nanopatterned biocatalysts, and improved tribological materials.

Selected Publications: 1. Jorgenson, T.D., Yucesoy, D.T., Sarikaya, M., & Overney, R.M., Thermal Selection of Aqueous Molecular Conformations for Tailored Energetics of Peptide Assemblies at Solid Surfaces, Langmuir, 2020, 36(1), 318-327. 2. Jorgenson, T.D., Milligan, M., Sarikaya, M., & Overney, R.M., Conformationally Directed Assembly of Peptides on 2D Surfaces Mediated by Thermal Stimuli, Soft matter, 2019, 15, 7360. 3. Jorgenson, T.D., Mohammed, A.M., Agrawal, D., & Schulman, R., Self-Assembly of Hierarchical DNA Nanotube Architectures with Well-Defined Geometries, ACS Nano, 2017, 11(2), 1927-1936.