Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology have developed a computational model that digs into the chemical “recipe” of polymer manufacturing to provide predictive control over how materials self-organize to give rise to new textures and properties.
“That means manufacturers can design and simulate materials with built-in patterns – enhancing toughness, reducing weight, or enabling new functions – before ever mixing chemicals in the lab,” said Jeffrey Moore, the Stanley O. Ikenberry Endowed Chair Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The interdisciplinary team was led by Philippe Geubelle, executive associate dean of the Grainger College of Engineering and a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Moore, and primary researchers Anna Cramblitt, a graduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Donald Bistri, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. Their work appears in the journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Recent Illinois chemistry alumnus, Mya Mills (BS, '25), also participated in the research.