The McDonald Lab
for Programmable Organic Materials
An Interdisciplinary Approach
Research in the McDonald group focuses on the development of polymers as tailorable nanomaterials with programable self-assembly, nanostructure, and reactivity. The core philosophy of this program is to mimic the precise chemical tailoring that enables the function of nature’s assembled and reactive organic materials. Along this paradigm, research directions can be divided into three primary areas: Nanomaterials, Polymer Topology, and High Throughput Discovery.
Polymer Topology Team
The Polymer Topology team uses a synthetic chemistry driven and bottom-up approach to discover and understand key parameters of polymer design and polymer-network morphology towards the development of tunable and stimuli-responsive soft materials.
Nanomaterials Team
Inspired by bio-macromolecules utilized in natural fabrication processes, the Nano/ZIP team investigates the design rules of synthetic macromolecules for the dispersal, stabilization, and assembly of nanomaterials into hierarchically structured nanocomposites.
High Throughput Team
Taking the hierarchical polymers, nanomaterials, and viscoelastic materials systems and developing unique, fast, and dynamic methods of high throughput mechanical characterization
Interested in the McDonald Lab?
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Contact us today! We are looking for eager undergraduates, post-docs, and collaborators!