
Materials and nanotechnology
Our research in the field of materials and nanotechnology is highly collaborative & interdisciplinary, with expertise in design, synthesis, characterization, and modeling & integration of materials and systems.
Areas of focus include: advanced manufacturing; AI and machine learning for materials design; colloids & biomaterials; design & characterization of new catalytic materials; energy conversion & storage; nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, and photovoltaics; multiscale modeling & simulation; nanotechnology; graphene & carbon nanomaterials; quantum computing; biopolymers & polymeric materials processing; and soft matter.
We offer an Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering.
Examples of research in faculty-led labs are highlighted below. Also, view faculty associated with this cross-cutting research area.
- Nanodevices and Integrated Systems Laboratory
- Yao Research Group
- Multiscale Materials and Manufacturing Laboratory
- Nano-Engineering Lab
- Nanoscale Interfaces, Transport, and Energy (NITE)
- Laboratory for Multiscale Bioengineering and Mechanobiology
- Ping Lab | Nano/Bio Interfaces & Applications
- Bai Research Group
- Wu Research Group
- Perry Research Group
- Schiffman Research Group
- Kireev Lab Group
Featured organizations
MassNanoTech Institute
A campus-wide initiative for nanoscale science and engineering
Center for Bioactive Delivery
Creates novel delivery platforms for small and large molecules. The right drug to the right place.
Quantum Information Systems
Bolstering creative and collaborative partnerships to solidify UMass Amherst’s position in the cutting-edge field of quantum information systems
Related faculty
Ashwin Ramasubramaniam
Adjunct, Chemical Engineering
Director, Materials Science & Engineering Graduate Program
Uses computational modeling to study and engineer materials for optoelectronics and energy applications.

Qiangfei Xia
Emerging devices and integrated systems for in-memory computing, neuromorphic computing, machine intelligence, smart sensing, etc.

Chase Cornelison
Adjunct, Chemical Engineering
UMass ADVANCE Faculty Fellow 2022-23
Neural engineering, inspired by cancer

Stephen S. Nonnenmann
Graduate Program Director, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Adjunct, Chemical Engineering
Materials science and engineering, scanning probe microscopy, nanomaterials, surfaces/interfaces, energy.

Sarah Perry
Adjunct, Polymer Science and Engineering
Undergraduate Program Director Chemical Engineering
Using biomimetic self-assembly, molecular design, and microfluidics to address real-world challenges in materials, medicine, and the environment.

Dmitry Kireev
Wearable and implantable bioelectronics; Graphene and 2D materials; Biosensors; Bioelectronics; Neuroelectronics, Biomedical devices; 2D Biohybrids

Peng Bai
Studies catalysis and separation in complex materials systems using molecular simulation, quantum chemical, and machine learning methods.

Jessica Schiffman
Engineered-materials that improve human health; Materials science and engineering; Green chemistry and renewable polymers; Microbiology

S. Thai Thayumanavan
Distinguished Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Distinguished Professor, Chemistry
Director, Center for Bioactive Delivery
Polymer self-assembly, responsive materials and their use in diverse applications including therapeutic delivery, sensing, and diagnostics

Eric Polizzi
Adjunct, Mathematics and Statistics
Conduct computational activities at the intersection of various disciplines: from applied mathematics to first-principle physics applied to nanoengineering.

Nianqiang Wu
Armstrong/Siadat Endowed Professorship, Materials Science & Engineering
Research aims to gain fundamental understanding of charge transfer and energy transfer in electrochemical and optoelectronic materials and devices.

Prabhani Atukorale
Immunoengineering; Immunotherapeutics; Novel nanomaterials; Tumor immunology; Tumor microenvironment; Synthetic tumor niches

Jinglei Ping
Adjunct, Biomedical Engineering
Biosensing devices and systems based on two-dimensional (2D) materials and translation of 2D materials into applications in point-of-care diagnostics.

Wen Chen
Additive manufacturing; mechanical behavior of materials; materials design.

Gina Olson
Soft robots; soft and compliant structures; mechanics of soft structures.

X. Frank Zhang
Associate Department Head, Biomedical Engineering
Adjunct, Chemical Engineering
Focuses on using single-molecule detection techniques to study the mechanosensing and activation mechanisms in blood clotting, viral infection, tissue repair
