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Material Measurement Laboratory /Materials Science and Engineering Division

Polymers and Complex Fluids Group

The Polymers and Complex Fluids Group develops measurement methods, models, data, standards, and science for soft materials, such as multi-phase fluids, gels, and composites, and their constituent components, such as polymeric molecules, nanoparticles, colloids, and fibers. The Group provides expertise in macromolecular measurements, advanced separation methods, processing, rheology, and composite structure needed to define processing, structure

Projects and Programs

Macromolecular Architectures

Ongoing
This project’s purpose is to synthesize and characterize model thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and mixed resins with systematic variation of polymer sequence, chemistry, and architectures to generate libraries of quantitative structure-property relationships validated by multiple...

Fluid Suspensions and Emulsions

Ongoing
We aim to: Develop measurement capabilities to relate solution structure and viscosity through novel combinations of unique small volume, high shear rate rheometers with scattering and particle-imaging techniques. A major application of these capabilities is understanding self-association in fluids...

Particles, Tubes, and Colloids

Ongoing
Description A highlight of the PTC project is our success in purification of well-defined SWCNT populations using liquid phase separation methods. Although we use multiple techniques and methods, ion exchange chromatography, rate-zonal and isopycnic ultracentrifugation, size exclusion chromatography...

Polymer Analytics

Ongoing
This project focuses on a variety of activities to achieve the aforementioned goal of accelerating the discovery of new polymer physics. Enhanced machine learning Two major hurdles to applying machine learning to polymer science is a lack of large datasets and a need to understand the model...
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Publications

View All Publications

Awards

A group of four individuals stand on a stage, posing for a photo with an award.

2025 - ChemLuminary Award---PoWER Team

The PoWER: Polymer Women Empowerment & Research team was selected for the ChemLuminary Award “Most Unique Project funded by a Division Innovative Project Grant” for advancing equity and inclusion in polymer science. The project blended research...
Ming Zheng holding Carbon Nanotube

2023 - Life Sciences Invention of the Year---Ming Zheng

Annually, ovarian cancer is responsible for 184,000 deaths worldwide. Survival rates are strongly linked to the stage at which the disease is detected, with just a 29% five-year survival rate if the cancer has metastasized—the stage at which most...
Vivek Prabhu

Vivek M. Prabhu Named APS Fellow

For fundamental insight into the chain conformation, structure, phase separation, and interfaces of polyelectrolytes enabled by light and neutron scattering methods.
Vivek Prabhu, smiling for the camera.

Vivek Prabhu named ACS PMSE Fellow

For developing measurements that identify the resolution limit of the chemically amplified photoresists that are used in semiconductor lithography and working with industry develop strategies rooted in the fundamentals of polymer physics to improve...

NIST Researchers Receive 2019 ACS National Award

For developing the metrology ecosystem that was critical to improving chemically amplified photoresist formulations, enabling sub-100 nm lithographic patterning strategies, and realizing high performance semiconductors. The award will be...

Contacts

Group Leader

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