(7bo) Engineering Precision Polymers for Advanced Applications

Synthetic polymers with precisely programmed structures and functions offer unparalleled opportunities for preparing next-generation functional materials with precisely tunable performance, processing parameters, and morphological features. While the preparation of such materials has been a grand challenge, recent scalable routes to discrete synthetic polymers opened pathways to make precision materials having specific functions that should impact myriad fundamental studies and technological applications.

To address the grand challenges of building complex adaptive materials from molecular building blocks as Nature does, and relating their structures to final properties, my research program will examine three specific areas: (1) precision polymers with tailored shapes and functions (2) structurally dynamic and asymmetric polymer networks (3) self-organization and replication of periodic polymers and hybrid materials. The materials developed in my research programs will address the challenges in the development of materials for stimuli-responsive, separation, imaging tracer/sensing and delivery applications, and serve as molecular tools for fundamental studies at the interface of synthetic and physical chemistry, chemical and materials engineering, physics, biology, and other fields.

Postdoctoral Projects:

“Synthetic Oligomers and Polymers with Discrete Structures and Hierarchical Architectures”

Department of Materials, University of California Santa Barbara

Advisor: Prof. Craig J. Hawker

PhD Dissertation:

“Functional Nanostructures from Nanoparticle Building Blocks”

Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Advisor: Prof. Todd Emrick

Research Experience:

In my postdoctoral research at the Department of Materials, UCSB I investigated synthetic strategies to prepare a series of synthetic polymers with various topologies via controlled polymerization techniques and developed a scalable method to access discrete functional oligomers/polymers from (meth)acrylates, styrenics, siloxanes, thiophenes, and other monomer families. Together with my colleagues and intern students, we investigated the effect of tailored molar mass and composition dispersity on the properties of complex polymers.

In my PhD research at the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, UMass Amherst I focused on the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials and multifunctional polymer-based ligands for making nanostructures using directed self-assembly and covalent assembly techniques. I also investigated the synthesis of zwitterionic polymer covered nanomaterials and their potential applications as nonfouling nanomaterials and photothermal therapeutic agents for in vivo studies. Before joining UMass, I was a Research Scientist at Schlumberger Research (Boston) developing optochemical and electrochemical sensing, membrane separation and microfluidic platforms for downhole technologies. I obtained my master and bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan under the guidance of Prof. Takeo Yamaguchi, Prof. Steven Kraines and Prof. Hiroshi Komiyama.

Teaching Experience:

• Mentorship: 1 postdoctoral researcher, 7 graduate, 4 undergraduate and 3 high school students

• Outreach – MRSEC ASPIRE Outreach Program (UCSB 2015, UMass Amherst 2010)

• Teaching Assistant and co-leader, Polymer Synthesis Laboratory (PSE 603), University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2011–2013

• Co-leader, Polymer Science and Engineering Mentoring Program, 2010–2011

• Teaching Assistant, Life Cycle Analysis, Chemical Engineering, University of Tokyo, 2003.

Teaching Interests:

My diverse research and teaching experience has equipped me to teach a variety of courses offered in the Chemical Engineering Department. Courses of particular interest would be: Polymer Chemistry, Polymers/Material Science Laboratory, Thermodynamics, Transport Processes, Separation, Numerical/Molecular Simulation. Additionally, I am interested in developing special interdisciplinary topic courses at the graduate level on new research topics that my research group may explore.

Publications

1. Lawrence, J.; Goto, E..; Kim, D.S.; Ochiai Y.; Clark, P.G.; Laitar, D.; Higashihara, T.; Hawker, C. J.* A Versatile and Scalable Strategy to Discrete Conjugated Oligomers, in revision.

2. Oschmann, B.; Lawrence, J.; Schulze, M. W.; Ren, J. M.; Anastasaki, A.; Luo, Y.; Nothling, M. D.; Pester, C. W.; Delaney, K. T.; Connal, L. A.; McGrath, A. J.; Clark, P. G.; Bates, C. M.*; Hawker, C. J.*. Effects of Tailored Dispersity on the Self-Assembly of Dimethylsiloxane–Methyl Methacrylate Block Co-Oligomers. ACS Macro Lett. 2017, 6, 668

3. Lawrence, J.; Lee, S.-H.; Abdilla, A.; Nothling, M. D.; Ren, J. M.; Knight, A. S.; Fleishmann, C.; Li, Y.; Abrams, A.; Schmidt, B. V. K. J.; Hawker, M. C.; Connal, L. A.; McGrath, A. J.; Clark, P. G.; Gutekunst, W. R.*; Hawker, C. J.* A Versatile and Scalable Strategy to Discrete Oligomers, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 6306.

4. Discekici, E.; Pester, C.; Treat, N.; Lawrence, J.; Mattson, K; Narupai, B.; Toumayan, E.; Luo, Y.; McGrath, A.; Clark, P.; Read d. A. J.; Hawker, C. J. Simple Bench Top Approach to Polymer Brush Nanostructures Using Visible Light Mediated Metal-Free Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization. ACS Macro Letters, 2016, 5, 258.

5. Lawrence, J.*; Emrick, T. Pentafluorophenyl Ester-Functionalized Nanoparticles as a Versatile Platform for Selective and Covalent Inter-nanoparticle Coupling. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 2016, 8, 2393.

6. Liu, Y.; Chen, Y-C.; Hutchens, S.; Lawrence, J.; Emrick, T.; Crosby, A. J. Directly Measuring the Complete Stress-Strain Response of Ultrathin Polymer Films. Macromolecules, 2015, 48, 6534.

7. Lawrence, J.; Yamashita, K.; Yamaguchi, T. Correlating Electronic Structure and Chemical Durability of Sulfonated Poly(arylene ether sulfone)s. Journal of Power Sources, 2015, 279, 48.

8. Puodziukynaite, E.; Wang, H.W.; Lawrence, J.; Wise, A. J.; Russel, T.P.; Barnes, M.; Emrick, T. Azulene Methacrylate Polymers: Synthesis, Electronic Properties, and Solar Cell Fabrication, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2014, 136, 11043.

9. Maiz, J.; Zhao, W.; Gu, Y.; Lawrence, J.; Arbe, A.; Alegria, A.; Emrick, T.; Mijangos, C.; Colmenero, J.; Russell, T.P. Dynamic Study of Polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) Copolymer Confined in Self-Ordered Nanoporous Alumina, Polymer, 2014, 55, 4057.

10. Pham, J. T.; Lawrence, J.; Grason, G. M.; Emrick, T.; Crosby, A. J. Stretching of Assembled Nanoparticle Helical Springs, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16, 10261.

• Selected for the front cover. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16, 10235

11. Lawrence, J.; Pham, J.T.; Lee, D. Y.; Liu, Y.J.; Crosby, A. J.; Emrick, T. Highly Conductive Ribbons from Stick-Slip Assembly of Organosoluble Gold Nanoparticles. ACS Nano, 2014, 8, 1173.

12. Pham, J. T.; Lawrence, J.; Lee, D. Y.; Grason, G. M.; Emrick, T.; Crosby, A. J. Highly Stretchable Nanoparticle Helices Through Geometric Asymmetry and Surface Forces. Advanced Materials, 2013, 25, 6703.

• Selected for the front cover. Advanced Materials, 2013, 25, 6635.

13. Lee, D. Y.; Pham, J. T.; Lawrence, J.; Lee, C. H.; Parkos, C.; Emrick, T.; Crosby, A. J. Macroscopic Nanoparticle Ribbons and Fabrics. Advanced Materials, 2013, 25, 1248.

14. Laprade, E. J.; Long, R.; Pham, J. T.; Lawrence, J.; Emrick, T.; Crosby, A. J.; Hui, C.-Y.; Shull, K. R. Large Deformation and Adhesive Contact Studies of Axisymmetric Membranes. Langmuir, 2013, 29, 1407.

15. Chen, X.#; Lawrence, J.#; Parelkar, S.; Emrick, T. Novel Zwitterionic Copolymers with Dihydrolipoic Acid: Synthesis and Preparation of Nonfouling Nanorods. Macromolecules, 2012, 46, 119. (#: equal contribution)

16. Bae, J.; Lawrence, J.; Miesch, C.; Ribbe, A.; Li, W.; Emrick, T.; Zhu, J.; Hayward, R. C. Multifunctional Nanoparticle-Loaded Spherical and Wormlike Micelles Formed by Interfacial Instabilities. Advanced Materials, 2012, 24, 2735.

17. Lawrence, J.; Yamaguchi, T. The Degradation Mechanism of Sulfonated Poly(arylene ether sulfone)s in an Oxidative Environment. Journal of Membrane Science, 2008, 325, 633.

18. Lawrence, J.; Robinson, K. L.; Lawrence, N. S. Electrochemical Determination of Sulfide at Various Carbon Substrates: A Comparative Study. Analytical Sciences, 2007, 23, 673.

Awards

• Dow Materials Institute Travel Award, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Outstanding Performance, Schlumberger Corporation, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

• Schlumberger Innovation Projects 2006

• Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbusho) Full Scholarship, Graduate, 2003-2005

• Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbusho) Full Scholarship, Undergraduate, 1999-2003