Advanced Materials
Advanced materials are urgently needed to accelerate progress in emerging areas such as photonics, green process engineering, heterogeneous catalysis, electrocatalysis, renewable energy, aerospace, tissue engineering and biomedicine. The intersection between engineering and materials science offers fertile ground for technological breakthroughs and is a hallmark of Chemical Engineering at the University of Rochester. Researchers skillfully apply thermodynamics, kinetics, and transport principles to design and achieve new materials with unprecedented end-properties. Innovations have included glassy liquid crystals, vapor deposited polymer films, electrically responsive liquid crystal flakes, hydroxyapatite thin films for bone healing, and self-stretching polymers. Faculty and students have access to quality laboratory facilities, computational resources, and characterization tools.
Active Faculty / Research Areas
M. Anthamatten: Macromolecular & Nanoparticle Self-Assembly; Associative & Functional Polymers; Nanostructured Materials; Interfacial Phenomena; Optoelectronic Materials; Vapor Deposition Polymerization; Shape-Memory Polymers
S. H. Chen: Glassy Liquid Crystals; Robust Photoalignment Polymers; Organic Semiconductors; Self-Organization of Nanoparticles; Optoelectronic Devices
A. M. Müller: Solid-State Electrocatalysis; Pulsed Laser in Liquids Synthesis of Controlled Nanomaterials; Nanocatalyst Property–Functionality Relationships; Selective CO2 Reduction Catalysis
M. D. Porosoff: CO2 Reduction; Heterogeneous Catalysis; Catalyst Structure-Property Relationships; C1 Chemistry; Upgrading Light Alkanes
A. Shestopalov: Monomolecular Interfaces; Nano-Scale Contact Patterning; Electronic Properties of Monomolecular Films; Multicomponent Anisotropic Colloids
W. Tenhaeff: Electrochemical Energy Storage; Solid State Lithium Batteries and Solid Electrolytes; Polymer Thin Films, Interfaces and Thin Film Synthesis & Characterization; Vacuum Deposition Techniques
A. White: Modeling Peptide Self-Assembly; Data-Driven Molecular Simulation; Molecular Modeling Methods Development; Materials Design; Deep Learning; Artificial Intelligence in Chemical Engineering
M. Z. Yates: Thin Films; Membranes; Coatings; Small Particles; Crystallization; Microencapsulation; Electrolytic Surface Coatings and Electrochemical Surface Modification