News

Professor Karen I. Winey '91, the Harold Pender Professor Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania has recently been elected to the National Academy of Engineering for her groundbreaking work in polymer nanocomposites and ion-containing polymers! We’re proud to celebrate one of our alums and this well-deserved recognition!

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NAE Newly Elected Members

The article titled, "Complex Coacervates of Linear Polymers and Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles" was published January 18th, 2026 in Journal of Macromolecules. This paper was co-authored by Mingjun Zhou,* Nickolas Holmlund, Sarah L. Perry, Maria M. Santore*. 

Grafting short-chain polyelectrolytes onto the surface of silica nanoparticles enables the integration of these particles into complex coacervate systems, a novel method for coacervate formation that shows promise for high-performance coatings, polishing compounds, and various other applications. These nanoparticle-integrated coacervates

PNAS selected Granick Group paper on Epithelial Cell Electrical Signaling as part of highlighted 12 articles in 2025. Congratuations Granick Group!

A study uncovers evidence of bioelectric signaling in epithelial cells. Epithelial cells can generate bioelectric signals with voltage amplitudes similar to those of neurons. The insights could inform future designs of bioelectrical medical devices for enhancing wound healing.

Congratulations to Xin Hu, the 2025 winner of the Graduate Student Gold Award, given out at the 2025 MRS Fall Meeting. 

Xin extends her thanks to her advisor, Prof. Alfred Crosby, and Dr. Gabriela Moreira Lana for reviewing her application materials. She is grateful to the Crosby Group members, her classmates, and Prof. Steve Granick for providing valuable feedback on her presentation!

The article titled, "DOSY H NMR as an Accessible Technique for Characterizing Trends in Bottlebrush Polymer Molecular Weight" was published January 6th, 2026 in Journal of Macromolecules. This paper was co-authored by Connor L. Witt*, Brandon R. Clarke,* Kyoungwon Lee*, Gabrielle Ho, Thomas P. Russell*, Todd Emrick*, James J. Watkins*, Gregory N. Tew*, and Weiguo Hu*. 

Bottlebrush polymers and copolymers are a fascinating class of macromolecules, but their nontraditional architecture can make determining their molecular weight challenging. In this work, we utilized diffusion ordered

Big congratulations to our department head and fearless leader, Alfred Crosby, Editor-in-Chief of Soft Matter, on this milestone editorial celebrating the journal’s 20th anniversary—written with Executive Editor Maria Southall. 

The editorial looks back on the journal’s history and impact, and introduces the Anniversary Collection featuring founding contributors and researchers behind some of the field’s most impactful advances.

We are proud to recognize Jackson Carlino, our Polymer Science & Engineering Finance Intern, for his outstanding academic and professional accomplishments. Jackson was recently awarded the George and Sherry Dickerman Family Scholarship at Isenberg School of Management, —a testament to his dedication, leadership, and excellence in finance.

Jackson brings a unique blend of analytical skill, strategic thinking, and interdisciplinary curiosity to his internship, bridging the worlds of polymer science and financial management. His scholarship recognition underscores not only his academic achievement

The article titled, "A molecularly impermeable polymer from two-dimensional polyaramids" was published November 13th, 2025 in Journal of Nature. This paper was co-authored by Cody L. Ritt, Michelle Quien, Zitang Wei, Hagen Gress, Mohan T. Dronadula, Kaan Altmisdort, Huong Giang T. Nguyen, Christopher D. Zangmeister, Yu-Ming Tu, Sanjay S. Garimella, Shahab Amirabadi, Michael Gadaloff, Weiguo Hu*, Narayana R. Aluru, Kamil L. Ekinci, J. Scott Bunch & Michael S. Strano. 

All polymers exhibit gas permeability through the free volume of entangled polymer chains. By contrast, two-dimensional (2D)

The human eye can see the color and the direction of light, but one property that we cannot see is polarization, or the direction in which the light wave oscillates (up/down, left/right or a combination of those). Now, researchers at the Riccio College of Engineering at UMass Amherst are partnering with Myrias Optics, a startup founded by James Watkins, professor of polymer science and engineering, to develop a new type of lens that would make this information visible—and do so at a commercial scale. A $1.55 million grant awarded to Myrias Optics by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)