Research Areas

Polymer science and engineering is a multidisciplinary STEM field focused on this special class of molecules. Polymer materials are ubiquitous in almost every aspect of modern life, and advances in the field enable scientific and technological breakthroughs in a wide range of technical applications.

The School of Polymer Science and Engineering is nationally and internationally recognized for the achievements of its faculty, its level of research excellence and the quality of our students.

REU’s will work with faculty and student researchers on projects that span the complex, interdisciplinary facets of materials sustainability- including:

The School of Polymer Science and Engineering faculty are engaged in world leading and innovative research spanning multiple areas in the field of polymer science and engineering including:

Design for Recyclability and Degradability

Materials for Sustainable Energy and Water Purification

(Bio) Renewable Feedstocks

Functional Polymeric Materials

Functional polymeric materials with novel and controlled electronic, optical, and mechanical properties can enable numerous applications, including lighting, sensors, structural materials, packaging, and soft wearable electronics. Research in this area includes stimuli-responsive materials, devices, and processing techniques to obtain materials with controlled chain dynamics, morphology function and structures.

Energy & Sustainability

Clean energy and environmental sustainability are clearly the greatest societal challenges of our time. They hinge on the development of new materials capable of fulfilling and advancing our needs while meeting the requirements of a circular economy. Making highly efficient energy-harvesting and -storage materials is crucial for addressing those grand challenges. Research efforts in this area include understanding process-structure-property relationship of energy-related materials, design of gas separation/capture membranes, and new approaches to plastics/thermosets recycling.

Materials for Biology & Health

Nature has evolved to produce remarkable materials ranging from the precise way proteins fold to enable function to the hierarchical self-assembly observed in bone development. These processes all fundamentally involve polymers. Research on biomaterials within the School of Polymer Science and Engineering aims to mimic these processes with synthetic materials and utilize these for a broad range of applications including tissue regeneration, drug delivery, programmed self-assembly, and novel bioactive surface chemistries.

High Performance Polymers, Composites and Coatings

Polymer composites are multi-phase materials comprised of a polymer matrix and reinforcing agents that when combined result in a synergistic enhancement of properties. The science, technology, and engineering of these materials is central to many emerging technologies. Research in this area spans a broad range of topics such as polymer matrix science, nanocomposites, fabrication engineering, interfacial science and multi-scale structure-property relationships, high performance coating. 

Past Projects

The following are examples of research projects that REU participants have been involved with in the past. This is not intended to be a complete list. Projects vary year to year depending on participant interest and faculty availability.

  • Structure-Property Relationships in AEK Diamine-Cured Epoxy Matrices

  • Evaluating graphene-based additives in polyurethane films for magnetic and conductive properties

  • Design of RAFT Agents for Streamlined Measurements of Polymer Chain Conformations and Diffusivity

  • A Facile Waterborne Strategy for Increasing Oil Fouling Resistance of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Microfiltration Membranes via Surface Co-deposition of Polydopamine with Hyperbranched Polyol

  • Investigating the Degradation and Preservation of Cellulose Acetate Film for USM Library Archive Resources

  • Bicyclic, Bio-based Building Blocks for High Heat Polybenzoxazines

  • Synthesis and Characterization of UV-Cured Keratin Networks via 2-Stage Thiol-Ene-Disulfidation Photopolymerization

  • Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Self-Assembly Behavior of PFAS Molecules in Various Environmental Mediums

  • Increasing Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Thermocleavage of Sidechains to Lock-in Morphology of Active Layers