Faculty Listing

Guided by fundamental science, Professor Crosby and his research group takes inspiration from examples in nature, as well as ubiquitous yet complex materials such as fabric, to develop and exploit simple, creative, and novel design paradigms that will change the way scientists, engineers, and the general public use and understand materials.

At the intersection of materials science and biotechnology, we exploit various forms of self-assembly towards achieving desirable properties of proteins, nucleic acids, and surfactants.

Our group is interested in the design and fabrication of advanced materials with highly tailored properties. We possess expertise in synthetic polymer chemistry, surface modification, advanced manufacturing techniques, high resolution roll-to-roll patterning and device fabrication & characterization and work to solve problems impacting a number of technology areas including electronics, optics, sensors, clean air & water, and chemical safety. We also seek to exploit renewable resources, such as nanocellulose, in these advanced materials applications.

We strive, through development of novel, and adaptation of known synthetic methods, to create new polymeric materials with properties suitable for a range of demanding applications. Our projects begin with synthesis and sustainability as a major motivators, however characterization studies to test our hypotheses and to inform the next round of synthetic efforts is also given significant emphasis.

Researching synthetic organic/polymer chemistry, functionalization of nanoscale and 2-D materials, aqueous polymer assembly and the preparation of polymer-based therapeutics.

My research is focused on understanding how controlled polymer molecular architecture can be used to guide the self-assembly and processing of materials in order to create novel and useful structures on a morphological length scale (nanometers to microns).

Current research projects include active polymers, molecules in extreme environments, biological intelligence and memory of non-neural cells.

Our research explores the role of geometric frustration in soft matter and polymeric assemblies through the combined lens of condensed matter theory, statistical physics and differential geometry. In assemblies, frustration arises from interactions between molecular or particulate “building blocks” that favor geometrically incompatible patterns of order. Counterintuitively, frustration often leads to self-organized states that are more exquisitely structured, and more robustly controlled, than their canonical, unfrustrated counterparts.

Projects in the Hoagland group examine polymer structure and dynamics in these materials using a range of experimental methods. The typical goal is to understand the behaviors of individual polymer molecules, i.e., their average conformation, where and how they move, or how rapidly they deform/recover when challenged with an external force.

At the intersection of chemical engineering and materials science, Katsumata Research Group procures material performance otherwise impossible by “vaporization” of fundamental science and “condensation” of real-world problems, nurtured by education and mentoring.

Laurel Kroo will join PSE in the Fall of 2025. The Kroo Group will specialize in complex fluids and macromolecular hydrodynamics.

The goal of our research group is to develop a new set of theoretical and experimental tools that enable the streamlined design, optimization, selection, and evaluation of polymeric materials for such applications. The research initiatives in our group focus on determining what basic molecular, morphological, and physical characteristics govern the engineering performance of polymers and polymer-based composites.

Researching silicones, Reactive polymer networks, Wetting – contact lines and capillary bridges, Covalently attached monolayers; Polymer and inorganic surface modification

The Morris group will engineer sustainable macromolecular materials to enable next-generation biomaterials, nanoreactors, and membranes, via automated and high-throughput tool development combined with multiscale physical characterization. The longevity and stability of most synthetic polymers has proven to be a major bottleneck in creating a sustainable materials world.

My research group is engaged in understanding how macromolecules, both biological and synthetic, assume their sizes and shapes, organize into assemblies, and move around in crowded environments. We employ a combination of theoretical, computational, and experimental techniques to uncover the underlying mechanisms of macromolecular phenomena in Physical Biology and Polymer Physics.

We have been recently focusing on the role of chain architecture on the lateral ordering and minimizing the size scale of the microdomains to the single nanometer level. Our efforts on the interfacial activity of nanoparticles aim to achieve multi-length scale assemblies of nanoparticles are pioneering a platform for encapsulation and diffusion barriers.

Discovering mechanisms for adhesion, lubrication, assembly, response, and reconfiguration in soft material systems, focusing on the dynamic interactions of polymers, biomolecules, nanoparticles, colloids, and cells. Coupling material interactions with flow and deformation to control structures and dynamics. Translating new interfacial mechanisms to the application-specific design of responsive / active interfacial materials

Macromolecular research in this century will be defined by discoveries at the interface of chemistry, biology, and materials science. Research in the Tew group is focused on problems at this interface.

We develop, characterize and utilize nanoscale and hybrid materials for the fabrication of devices that exploit the unique properties of the materials that we create. Our approaches include direct imprint patterning of device structures using nanoparticle-based inks, additive driven self-assembly with brush block copolymers and other templates in which interactions among each of the components are designed to overcome barriers to creating well-ordered systems, materials chemistry through photothermal processing and the creation of large area nanostructured materials and devices through

Weiguo Hu is NMR Director in PSE at UMass Amherst

Alexander Ribbe is Electron Microscopy Facility Dir. in PSE at UMass Amherst

David Waldman is CUMIRP Director and a Research Professor A in PSE at UMass Amherst

We work on a variety of topics inspired by the concept of materials that can change their properties on demand, clean or repair themselves, and actively interact with their surroundings. We are particularly interested in the mechanics of constrained and patterned soft polymeric materials that undergo shape instabilities in response to specific stimuli. For example, we have developed strategies by which temperature responsive gel sheets are micro-patterned to reversibly swell from flat sheets into precisely defined buckled shapes, such as the 5-node Enneper's surface and Randlett's bird shown

Researching Structure property correlations in polymer systems, Oriented films: Processing, properties and morphology, Polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites, Carbon nanotubes filled Polymer Composites.

My research utilizes self-assembly, molecular design, and microfluidic technologies to generate biologically relevant microenvironments for the study and application of biomacromolecules. Individually, microfluidics represent an enabling technology for the time-resolved analysis of enzyme structural dynamics, while control over molecular interactions in self-assembling polyelectrolyte systems can be used to examine the interplay between biomacromolecules and the intracellular environment. Together, these capabilities can be coupled to generate artificial organelle-like structures for use in

Shaw Ling Hsu is a Professor Emeritus in PSE at UMass Amherst.

Present research activities are focused on opto-electronic properties of modified conjugated polymers. A general objective is to maximize quantum yields of photon emission in these systems. One route has been to design macromolecules with alternating chromophoric and non-chromophoric sequences; another has been to use blends of appropriate morphology to enhance excitonic energy transfer. Other areas of interest include membrane modification by ion implantation to increase permselectivity; conformation of solvated chains below the θ-point (coil-globule transitions) and the effect of chain

Researching property structure correlations in microphase separated polymers and as ionomers, blends, and polyurethanes. Phase behavior of block copolymers containing a crystallizable block. Polymers from cyclic oligomeric esters.