UMass Amherst

Alfred J. Crosby

Assistant Professor, Polymer Science and Engineering
Conte A313, University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003-9292
(413) 577-1313
crosby@mail.pse.umass.edu
http://www.pse.umass.edu/~acrosby/

Surface and Interfacial Engineering for Nanoscale Design

Our research program focuses on novel patterns of topography, surface chemistry, and molecular architecture to understand and control the fundamental mechanisms of polymer adhesion and tribology.  We also combine the copper grid technique and combinatorial approaches to quantify craze growth in nanocomposite materials. Our preliminary results focus on the effect of film thickness, surface morphology, and nanoparticles on craze growth in model polystyrene-b-poly (2-vinyl pyridine) copolymers.

Research Interest Potential Application
Controlling Adhesion and Friction with Defined Patterns "Smart" Coatings and adhesives, Imprint Lithography, Drug Delivery
Deformation Processes in Nanoengineered Materials Optoelectronic materials, nanocomposites

Honors and Awards

  • National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2004
  • 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, 2003
  • Pressure Sensitive Tape Council Carl Dahlquist Award, 1999
  • Sigma Xi National Scientific Research Honor Society, 2001
  • Adhesion Society Alan Gent Award, 1999
  • Northwestern University Graham Fellowship, 1999
  • Adhesion Society Peeble's Award, 1999
  • American Chemical Society John D. Ferry Fellowship, 1997
  • Northwestern University Walter P. Murphy Fellowship, 1996

Publications

  1. Crosby, A. J. Combinatorial Characterization of Polymer Adhesion. J. Mat. Sci. 38, 1-11 (2003).
  2. Crosby, A. J., Karim, A. & Amis, E. J. Combinatorial Investigations of Interfacial Failure. J. Polym. Sci. Pt. B, Polym. Phys. 41, 883-891 (2003).
  3. Meredith, J. C., Smith, A. P., Crosby, A. J., Karim, A. & Amis, E. J. Combinatorial Methods for Polymer Science. in Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology, 3rd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York, 2003).
  4. Crosby, A. J. & Amis, E. J. Method for Combinatorially Measuring Adhesion Strength. U.S. patent application no. 20020194930 (2002).
  5. Paiva A., Sheller, N., Foster, M. D., Crosby, A. J. & Shull, K. R. Microindentation and nanoindentation studies of aging in pressure-sensitive adhesives. Macromolecules 34, 2269-2276 (2001).