Polymer and Soft Matter Physics : Polymer Science and Engineering : UMass Amherst

Alfred J Crosby

Professor & Department Head

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.

Samuel Gido

Associate Professor

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).

Steve Granick

Robert K. Barrett Professor

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

Greg Grason

Professor

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.

David Hoagland

Professor

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.

Reika Katsumata

Assistant Professor/ Grad Program Director

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.

Melody Morris

Assistant Professor

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.

Murugappan Muthukumar

Wilmer D. Barrett Professor

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.

Thomas Russell

Silvio O. Conte Distinguished Professor

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.

Maria Santore

Professor

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