Polymer Engineering Faculty Research
The Department of Polymer Engineering is part of the world-renowned College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering at UA, which has about 40 full-time faculty and 350 graduate students and postdoctoral research associates studying the chemistry, physics and engineering of polymeric materials and systems.
The Center for Polymer Engineering was created in 1983 and the Department of Polymer Engineering in 1984. In 1988 the Center was renamed the Institute of Polymer Engineering. The Department is currently comprised of 15 full-time faculty and approximately 140 graduate students. DPE is housed in three buildings -- the 32,000 sq. ft. Polymer Engineering Academic Center (PEAC); the 70,000 sq. ft. Sidney L. Olson Research Center (OLRC); and the 43,000 sq. ft. National Polymer Innovation Center (NPIC).
The Department of Polymer Engineering is strictly a graduate department, offering both the M.S. and Ph.D. degree in Polymer Engineering. The Department awards about 50 Ph.D. and M.S degrees each year. We are pleased that our graduates have gone on to successful careers in industry, government service, and academia throughout the world. Additionally, there are undergraduate students in the College of Engineering and the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences who often work on either independent projects with DPE faculty or who take some of our courses that are suitable as electives for majors in engineering and the physical sciences.
Our faculty members are recognized worldwide for their contributions to polymer research and education, as well as service to the polymer field. The faculty have been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions, ranging from the International Award of the Society of Plastics Engineers and the Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award of the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society, to Fellowships in major polymer-related societies, such as the American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science , American Chemical Society, and the Society of Plastics Engineers. In addition, our younger faculty have been recognized with Faculty Early Career Awards from the National Science Foundation. DPE faculty are actively engaged in various scientific organizations, edit several scientific journals, and have written a number of textbooks and monographs.
Submissions from 2008
Geometric effects on multilayer generic circuits fabricated using conductive epoxy/nickel adhesives, Jianguo Zhou and Erol Sancaktar
Stable and Unstable Capillary Flows of Highly-Filled Epoxy/Nickel Suspensions, Jianguo Zhou and Erol Sancaktar
Submissions from 2007
Fabrication Of High Density Silicon Nano-dots by Excimer Laser Irradiation on Block Copolymer Masks, Dae Up Ahn and Erol Sancaktar
Mechanical Properties of Electrospun Carbon Nano Fiber (ECNF)/Epoxy Nanocomposites, Darunee Aussawasathien and Erol Sancaktar
Dynamic phase diagram derived from large deformation non-linear mechano-optical behavior of polyethylene naphthalate nanocomposites, Mukerrem Cakmak and K. Kanuga
Control the strain-induced crystallization of polyethylene terephthalate by temporally varying deformation rates: A mechano-optical study, Mukerrem Cakmak and Carla I. Martins
Modeling Particle Inflation from Poly(amic acid) Powdered Precursors (Part II): Morphological Development During Bubble Growth, Camilo I. Cano, Meaghan L. Clark, Thein Kyu, and R. Byron Pipes
Modeling Particle Inflation from Poly(amic acid) Powdered Precursors (Part I): Preliminary Stages Leading to Bubble Growth, Camilo I. Cano, Thein Kyu, and R. Byron Pipes
Evaluation of Processing Effects on Polystyrene/Clay Nanocomposites Using an Excimer Laser, I-Ta Chang and Erol Sancaktar
Morphology Development in Main-Chain Liquid Crystalline Polymer Fibers during Solvent Evaporation, Pratyush Dayal, Andrew J. Guenthner, and Thein Kyu
Morphology development in polymer fibers undergoing solvent/non-solvent exchange, Pratyush Dayal and Thein Kyu
Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Porous Structure Formation in Electrospun Fibers, Pratyush Dayal, Jing Liu, Satish Kumar, and Thein Kyu
Atomistic Simulation of Peptide Binding to Metal Nanonoparticle Surfaces, Hendrik Heinz
Atomistic simulation of the interaction of peptides with metal and sheet silicate nanoparticles, Hendrik Heinz
Nanomechanics of Sheet Silicates, Hendrik Heinz
Peptide Design for Binding to Metal Surfaces Using Atomistic Simulation, Hendrik Heinz
Self-Assembly of Peptides on Montmorillonite Nanoparticles, Hendrik Heinz
Birefringence, Anisotropic Shrinkage and Luminance in Light Guide Plates: Modeling and Experiment, Avraam Isayev
Birefringence Distribution in gas-Assisted Tubular Injection Moldings: Simulation and experiment, Avraam Isayev
Continuous Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Polymers Using Ultrasound Assisted Extrusion Process, Avraam Isayev
CONTINUOUS ULTRASONIC PROCESS FOR PREPARATION OF PET/LCP BLENDS, Avraam Isayev
Effect of Carbon-Black Filler and Processing Oil on Ultrasound Devulcanization of Isoprene Rubber, Avraam Isayev
Effect of ultrasound on HDPE/clay nanocomposites: rheology, structure and properties, Avraam Isayev
Melt Extrusion Process for Exfoliation of Polyamide 6/clay Nanocomposites: Study of Oxygen Permeability, Avraam Isayev
Molecular mobility of unfilled and carbon-black-filled isoprene rubber: proton NMR transverse relaxation and diffusion, Avraam Isayev
Numerical Simulation of Flow-Induced Birefringence-Comparison of Injection and Injection/Compression Molding, Avraam Isayev
Process for Preparing Polymer Nanocomposites and Nanocomposites Prepared Therefrom, Avraam Isayev
The effect of high power ultrasound on EPDM gum in extrusion process, Avraam Isayev
Ultrasonically treated isoprene rubber, Avraam Isayev
Ultrasound-aided extrusion process for preparation of polypropylene--clay nanocomposites, Avraam Isayev
Ultrasound Assisted Single Screw Extrusion Process for Dispersion of Carbon Nanofibers in Polymers, Avraam Isayev
Ultrasound devulcanization: comparison of synthetic isoprene and natural rubbers, Avraam Isayev
Ultrasound devulcanization of unfilled natural rubber networks, studied via component molecular mobility, Avraam Isayev
Analysis of Polymerization in Chaotic Mixers Using Time Scales of Mixing and Chemical Reactions, Sadhan Jana
A novel method of manufacturing of thermoset polyimide-nanoclay composite for aerospace applications, Sadhan Jana
A novel strategy for nanoclay exfoliation in thermoset polyimide nanocomposite systems, Sadhan Jana
Expanded graphite filled epoxy composites for bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, Sadhan Jana
Highly conductive epoxy/graphite composites for bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, Sadhan Jana
Light weight polymers and polymer composites in fuel cell applications: Challenges and state of the art, Sadhan Jana
Nanoclay-tethered shape memory polyurethane nanocomposites, Sadhan Jana
On optimum organic treatment of nanoclay for PMR-15 nanocomposites, Sadhan Jana
Polymer composites of oxidized carbon nanofibers prepared by chaotic mixing, Sadhan Jana
Polymer nanocomposites for shape memory applications, Sadhan Jana
Shape memory polymer nanocomposites actuated by resistive heating, Sadhan Jana
Shape memory thermoplastic elastomers and their nanocomposites, Sadhan Jana
Studies on the mechanisms of nanoparticle-induced morphology development in immiscible polymer systems, Sadhan Jana
Phase Equilibria of a Mixture of a Side Chain Liquid Crystalline Polymer and its Blends with Low Molecular Mass Liquid Crystal, Namil Kim, Jaehyuck Choi, Liang-Chy Chien, and Thein Kyu
Evaluation of Tackiness of Polymer Containing Lubricants by Open-Siphon Method: Experiments, Theory and Observations, Arkadii Leonov
Impact Fatigue of Cross-Linked Rubbers in Simple Extension, Arkadii Leonov
Influence of acrylate arm topology on phase diagrams of mixtures of multi-arm acrylate photo-curative monomers and nematic liquid crystals, Scott Meng, Hatice Duran, and Thein Kyu
7. Morphological Phase Diagrams of Blends of Polypropylene Isomers with Poly(Ethylene–Octene) Copolymer, Domasius Nwabunma, Thein Kyu, Wirunya Keawwattana, and Rushikesh A. Matkar
20. Template Crystallization of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polypropylene Induced by Chain Orientation of Cocrystallized Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene, Domasius Nwabunma, Thein Kyu, and Rockliffe St. J. Manley
Photopolymerization Induced Directional Crystal Growth in Reactive Mixtures, Soo Jeoung Park, Pankaj Rathi, and Thein Kyu
A Model for High Temperature Coil Globule Transitions in Compressible Solvent, David Simmons
Bimodal Particle Distribution for Emulsions: The Effect of Interstitial Functional Particles, Mark Soucek
Effect of Introducing a Cationic System into a Thiol-ene Photopolymerization Formulation, Mark Soucek
Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Coatings, Mark Soucek
New Class of Silicone Resins for Coatings, Mark Soucek
Preparation and Characterization of Monodisperse Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles in Hydrocarbon Solvents, Mark Soucek
Synthesis, Characterization, and Evaluation of Amine-Terminated Cycloaliphatic Substituted Polysiloxanes, Mark Soucek
UV-Curable Hybrid Coatings Based on Vinylfunctionalized Siloxane Oligomer and Acrylated Polyester, Mark Soucek
Direct measurement of the in-situ developed latent image: the residual swelling fraction., Bryan Vogt
Direct measurement of the spatial extent of the in situ developed latent image by neutron reflectivity, Bryan Vogt
Effect of surface properties on wrinkling of ultrathin films, Bryan Vogt
FTIR measurements of compositional heterogeneities, Bryan Vogt
Influence of base additives on the reaction diffusion front of model chemically amplified photoresists, Bryan Vogt
Mechanisms of adhesion loss at and above the critical relative humidity, Bryan Vogt
Scaling of Interdomain Spacing of Diblock Copolymers in a Selective Diluent, Bryan Vogt
Structure Characterization of Porous Interlevel Dielectric Film, Bryan Vogt
Phase Behavior of Rapidly Quenched PVDF/PMMA Blends as Characterized by Raman Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction and Thermal Techniques, Xixian Zhou and Mukerrem Cakmak
Stress--strain behavior as related to surface topography and thickness uniformity in uni-and biaxially stretched PVDF/PMMA blends, Xixian Zhou and Mukerrem Cakmak
Submissions from 2006
Perpendicularly Aligned, Size-and Spacing-Controlled Nanocylinders by Molecular-Weight Adjustment of a Homopolymer Blended in an Asymmetric Triblock Copolymer, Dae Up Ahn and Erol Sancaktar
Influence of nanosilica particles on hysteresis and strain induced crystallization of natural rubber as investigated by a real time true stress-true strain birefringence system, F. Fiorentini, Mukerrem Cakmak, and S. K. Mowdood
A comprehensive fatigue life predictive model for electronically conductive adhesive joints under constant-cycle loading, Rajesh R. Gomatam and Erol Sancaktar
A novel cumulative fatigue damage model for electronically-conductive adhesive joints under variable loading, Rajesh R. Gomatam and Erol Sancaktar
The effects of stress state, loading frequency and cyclic waveforms on the fatigue behavior of silver-filled electronically-conductive adhesive joints, Rajesh R. Gomatam and Erol Sancaktar
Atomistic Simulation of Organic-Inorganic Interfaces Containing Sheet Silicates, Hendrik Heinz
Force Fields for Inorganic Components in Hybrid Systems, Hendrik Heinz
Force Fields for Sheet Silicates and Metals, Hendrik Heinz
Progress in Molecular Modeling of Superplasticizers in Cementitous Systems, Hendrik Heinz
Simulation of Interfaces in Nanocomposites and Biomaterials, Hendrik Heinz
Simulation of Nanostructured Materials Using Atomistic and Coarse Grain Models, Hendrik Heinz
Simulation of Organic-Inorganic Interfaces Containing Sheet Silicates, Hendrik Heinz
Simulation of Organic-Inorganic Interfaces Using Atomistic and Coarse Grain , Hendrik Heinz
Simulation of Peptide Binding to Metal and Clay Nanoparticles, Hendrik Heinz
Anisotropic Shrinkage in Injection Molding of Various Polyesters, Avraam Isayev
Birefringence Distribution in Gas Assisted Tubular Injection Moldings, Avraam Isayev
Carbonized Pitch Moldings from Mixtures of a Synthetic Mesophase Pitch and Heat-Soaked Isotropic Pitch, Avraam Isayev
Chemistry and Industry , Avraam Isayev
Continuous Process for Perparating Plastic Nanocomposites, Avraam Isayev
Crystallization kinetics for simulation of processing of various polyesters, Avraam Isayev
HDPE/clay Nanocomposites by Continuous Sonication Process: Mechanical and Rheological Study, Avraam Isayev
Kontinuierliche Ultraschallbehandlung von unvulkanisiertem und vulkanisiertem SBR--Einfluss des Styrolgehaltes, Avraam Isayev
Recycling of tire-curing bladder by ultrasonic devulcanization, Avraam Isayev
Recycling of Tires, Waste Rubbers and Thermosets, Avraam Isayev