(6hy) Mechanics and Processing of Polymeric Materials for Soft Electronics and Robotics

My research interests are broadly centered around the material science and engineering of polymeric materials for soft electronics, robotics, and biomedical devices. I am interested in questions relating to the structure and mechanics of complex soft materials—from the molecular to the macroscopic scale. From a fundamental perspective, my research program will employ simulations—both molecular and continuum methods—in tandem with experimental characterization to understand mechanisms of elasticity in semiconducting polymers. Knowledge gained from such studies will be leveraged to design new materials, processing strategies, and integrated devices. Processing techniques including ink jet printing, 3D printing and replica molding will be employed to integrate functional soft devices with electronic circuitry consisting of highly deformable conducting and semiconducting polymers. Such processing capabilities will enable the development of electronically-controlled soft robotic devices that are easily integrated with both traditional hard robotic components and human users to provide new and useful functionality in automation and healthcare.

Teaching Interests:

My teaching interests encompass the entirety of the chemical engineering curriculum. I have had specific experience assisting in teaching graduate courses on applied mathematics (partial differential equations) and intermolecular & surface forces, in addition to an undergraduate class on polymeric materials—for two different semesters. I am also an expert computer programmer, and have had a lot of experience teaching groups of colleagues and mentees how to use Python for a variety of tasks related to simulation and data analysis in chemical engineering research. My favorite subjects are thermodynamics and transport. I hope to eventually teach a graduate-level course on statistical mechanics and molecular simulation methods. I am a supporter of project-based learning and my grading would be equally weighted by projects and exams.