Author: Rhonda Ward

Polymer Program Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Jennifer Frias ’16

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Jennifer Frias '16
Dr. Jennifer Frias, IMS Polymer Program ’16

by Paige Bjerke
IMS Written Communications Assistant

Dr. Jennifer Frias graduated from Simmons University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and physics before pursuing a polymer science Ph.D. in Professor Douglas Adamson’s group at the UConn Institute of Materials Science Polymer Program. She completed her degree in 2016.

Dr. Frias began her career as a Research Chemist at the chemical company Solvay.  She now works as an Advanced Technology Scientist at Nye Lubricants, a manufacturer of specialty lubricants for space applications and other critical applications in the automotive, medical and semiconductor industries. 

IMS News reached out to Dr. Frias with a few questions about her experience at UConn and how it applies to her work today. 

IMS News: Why did you choose to pursue a Ph.D. in polymer science, and what particularly drew you to UConn’s program? 

Frias: “I chose to pursue a Ph.D. in polymer science as I had exposure to polymer synthesis during my undergraduate thesis research at Simmons University. In addition, I participated in a 10-week research experience for undergraduates (REU) at UConn in the IMS Polymer Program in Dr. Adamson’s lab. That experience solidified my decision to pursue further education.”

IMS News: How did the UConn faculty support you while completing your Ph.D. and research?  

Frias: “The UConn faculty were very supportive during my Ph.D. coursework and research. They invested in additional study sessions when we were preparing for our cumulative exams, and practice sessions for our oral exams to become a Ph.D. candidate. My advisor, Dr. Adamson, was very supportive, encouraging, and always available to discuss if we had a new idea.” 

IMS News: What does your day to day look like in your position with Nye Lubricants?  

Frias: “I am an Advanced Technology Scientist looking at next generation technologies to incorporate into our lubricants to enhance performance, offer more sustainable solutions to our customers, and provide a technical advantage over the competition. My day-to-day can vary by working with our internal collaborators, our R&D colleagues, or our external collaborators, such as a university. With being part of the global FUCHS network now, there are additional market segments that we serve, so every day is unique and challenging. The best part is the collaboration among the team.”  

IMS News: What industries does your work mostly serve, and where and how might we see your work/creations in everyday life?  

Frias: “Our site, based in Fairhaven MA, formulates and manufactures specialty lubricants for automotive, aerospace, aviation, and medical, to name a few. A cool example of where our lubricants end up is our NyeBar® Barrier Film on the Mars Perseverance Rover. Other examples include our damping/motion control lubricants in automotive interior applications such as sunroofs, seat tracks, knobs and shifters.” 

IMS News: As an alumna, what advice would you give to aspiring or current polymer science Ph.D. students?   

Frias: “My advisor in undergraduate always told me: ‘getting into grad school is the easy part, staying in grad school is the challenge.’ I never knew what that meant until experiencing it for myself. A Ph.D. is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep plugging along, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It will pay off. Dig deep!” 

Hanyi Duan Completes His Polymer Ph.D.

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Dr. Hanyi Duan (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Dr. Hanyi Duan (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Before coming to UConn, Hanyi completed a bachelor’s degree in macromolecular materials & engineering in Taiyuan University of Technology, then a master’s degree in polymer chemistry & physics at Zhejiang University. After this experience, Hanyi joined the UConn IMS Polymer Science Ph.D. Program with great drive and enthusiasm.  Under the guidance of co-advisors, Professors Jie He and Yao Lin, Hanyi’s research resulted in an astounding ten publications as lead author and eighteen as co-author.  This extensive publication list has already led to 641 citations.

In 2023 Hanyi received the Samuel J. Huang Graduate Student Research Award for his outstanding performance.  His thesis, “Plasmonic Patchy Nanoparticles: Controlled Synthesis and Self-Assembly in Solution,” was completed in summer 2024.

Hanyi has taken a position as postdoctoral research scholar at Indiana Univ., Bloomington. He is blazing the trail to his long- term goal: a faculty research position.

IMS Polymer Program Welcomes New Students

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IMS Polymer Program fall 2024 semester new students
Clay Gensel (l) and Vinh Le (r) joined the IMS Polymer Program Ph.D. program for the Fall 2024 semester.

The IMS Polymer Ph.D. Program welcomes two students this fall, Clay Gensel and Vinh Le.  Both are local New Englanders.  Clay Gensel completed his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at UMass Amherst in the spring of 2024.  During his senior year there, he joined the research lab of Professor Bryan Coughlin. This experience gave him both the desire to pursue a doctoral degree program and the confidence to do so.  Intrigued with the polymer research in the Coughlin lab, Clay decided to pursue the UConn Polymer Program

Vinh Le completed his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Central Connecticut State University. During his program he was introduced to organic synthesis in the research lab of Professor Neil Glagovich. After completing his degree, Vinh gained 3 years of professional experience in local industry. This experience introduced him to the exciting world of polymer science. Vinh was eager to join the UConn Polymer Program because it gave him the unique opportunity to study polymer science while living in his home state of Connecticut.

The polymer program welcomes these two talented Ph.D. students.

Tianjian Yang Completes Polymer Ph.D.

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Tianjian Yang
Dr. Tianjian Yang

With a continued curiosity in the materials he encountered during his childhood, Tianjian Yang wanted to satisfy his interest at a higher level. When studying Materials Science as an undergraduate at Jinan University, Tianjian discovered polymers. This led him to join the research lab of Prof. Ziyang Zhang where he became deeply involved with the research and completed his first scientific paper. Hungry for more knowledge, Tianjian joined the Materials Science and Engineering master’s degree program at the University of California, San Diego. This experience introduced him to synthetic chemistry used in biology.  Upon discovery of Prof. Yao Lin’s research in polypeptides for biomedical applications, Tianjian joined the UConn Polymer Program.

Tianjian’s hard work and talent was recognized. He published three papers as lead author, has two more in process, and was co-listed on numerous more.  He was a finalist for the national 2024 Eastman Chemical Student Award. He also received the UConn Polymer Program 2024 Samuel J. Huang Graduate Student Research Award.

Tianjian said he loved IMS because of the variety of research projects, the extensive access to instrumentation, the collaborative nature of the community, and the faculty’s willingness to help all students with questions. He said this was the perfect program for his interests and goals.

This summer he successfully defended his thesis: “Biomimetic Supramolecular Materials Assembled from Synthetic Polypeptides”. This month he started a position as a postdoctoral research scholar at Johns Hopkins University. Tianjian’s long-term goal is to become a professor.

IMS Polymer Program Receives DoE GAANN Grant

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Science 1 Research Center, home of the IMS Polymer Program

The IMS Polymer Program has been awarded its fourth Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) grant in 10 years. The PI, Professor Mu-Ping Nieh, and co-PIs Professors Rajeswari Kasi, Yao Lin, and Anson Ma led the recent grant proposal, “Design High-Efficiency Polymers and Nanocomposites with Their Life-Cycle in Consideration (Upcycling, Recycling, Biodegradability),” with assistance from Professors Luyi Sun and Kelly Burke. The team effort was awarded $1,119,095 which is expected to support five Polymer Ph.D. students over a three-year period.

The GAANN grant was created by the Department of Education to support academically strong students with financial need pursuing a doctoral degree in specific subject areas considered “in need”. Polymer Science is considered an area of national need. Many academic areas in the STEM fields fall under this category.

The first GAANN grant for the IMS Polymer Program was awarded in 2015. Since then, the program has been awarded three additional GAANN grants. In total, the GAANN grants have provided more than $3.4 million and have supported more than 30 students during the past 10 years. The Polymer Program’s success with GAANN funding reflects the program’s achievements in research and student support that has continued for the past 60 years.

Mu-Ping Nieh Named Director of IMS Polymer Program

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Dr. Mu-Ping Nieh
Dr. Mu-Ping Nieh

After three years as director of the IMS Polymer Program, Dr. Kelly Burke has stepped down to assume the role of Head of the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. Faculty members have elected Professor Mu-Ping Nieh as the new director of the IMS Polymer Program.

Professor Nieh’s first achievement as director was writing a successful Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) grant proposal. The Department of Education-backed grant will provide over $1 million to support domestic students over three years.  Additional goals include increasing student recruitment, creating new courses, and coordinating a polymer certificate program consisting of a series of short courses.

The program plans to create new polymer courses as an option for the science and technology requirement for undergraduate general education courses.  These courses will introduce students to polymer science, discuss the current plastic crisis, and analyze efforts to produce plastics that are environmentally friendly.

The goal of the planned polymer certificate program will be to provide advanced educational options for scientists and strengthen industrial ties. This task had been initiated in the past but was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Dr. Nieh will continue the project with a proposed start date of Fall 2025.

The IMS Polymer Program welcomes the new leadership of Professor Nieh.

IMS Polymer Program Presents Awards for Outstanding Posters

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Prof. Kelly Burke presents Yasmin Bambatti with first place award at 2024 Poster Session
Prof. Kelly Burke presents Yasmin Bambatti with first place award at 2024 Poster Session
Prof. Kelly Burke presents Rumesha Pererage with third place prize at the 2024 poster session
Prof. Kelly Burke presents Rumesha Pererage with third place prize at the 2024 poster session

 

 

 

 

 

 The IMS Industrial Affiliates Program (IAP) 2024 Annual Meeting once again included a joint student poster session with IMS Polymer Program and Department of Materials Science and Engineering students sharing their research. 33 graduate students participated. The poster session provides an opportunity for students to interact with IAP members and industry partners, many of whom have hired our graduates in the past. The Program presented its annual Poster Awards at the 202 poster session.

 

Rumesha Pererage, from the Adamson Research Group, received third place prize for her poster, “Graphene polyamide membrane for in situ electrochemical CO2 reduction”.

 

Huijie Li, from the Zhang Research Group, received second place prize for their poster, “Microneedle-based potentiometric sensing system for continuous monitoring of nutrients in skin interstitial fluids”.

 

Yasmin Bimbatti, from the McCutcheon Research Group, received first place honors for her poster, “Thin Film Composite Ion Exchange Membranes by Electrospray”.

 

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IMS Polymer Program Honors Two Ph.D. Students

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Jeff McCutcheon (l), Yasmin Bimbatti (c), and Kelly Burke (r)
Yasmin Bimbatti (center) is presented the Stephanie H. Shaw Scholarship Award from Drs. Jeffrey McCutcheon (l) and Kelly Burke (r).

The IMS Polymer Program recognized the accomplishments of two Ph.D. students, bestowing the Samuel J. Huang Student Research Award on Tianjian Wang, and the Stephanie H. Shaw Scholarship on Yasmin Bimbatti.

The Stephanie H. Shaw Scholarship was established 1990 to recognize a female student showing academic achievement as well as contributions outside of research.

Tianjian Yang receives the Samuel J. Huang Graduate Student Research Award from Dr. Yao Lin (left) and Dr. Kelly Burke (right)
Tianjian Yang receives the Samuel J. Huang Graduate Student Research Award from Dr. Yao Lin (l) and Dr. Kelly Burke (r)

The Samuel J. Huang Student Research Award recognizes a graduate student for outstanding research in the field of polymer science and engineering. Tianjian Yang is a member of Dr. Yao Lin's research group.  He was recently named a finalist for the Eastman Chemical Student Award in Applied Polymer Science, which recognizes graduate researchers who demonstrates research excellence in both research and technical presentations. Yang's research has been published in such journals as the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and MDPI.

Pragati Rout Wins Inaugural Boehringer Ingelheim Fellowship

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Ph.D. student Pragati Rout
Ph.D. Student Pragati Rout

Pragati Rout has won the first award in the newly-created Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. Fellowship.  The fellowship recognizes the early academic and research accomplishments of a chemistry student’s graduate studies. It awards $5,000 of support in the third summer of the student’s academic journey toward their doctorate degree, allowing the recipient to focus on their doctoral dissertation.

Pragati, a student in Dr. Gregory Sotzing’s group, received her M.S. degree from Berhampur University, Odisha, India.  Her research focuses on synthesis and characterization of API’s, monomers and oligomers and exploring their fluorescence properties, hydrogels, and optical brighteners. She is currently conducting cannabinoid research.

Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and the largest private one.

Tianjian Yang is 2024 Finalist for Eastman Chemical Student Award

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Tianjian Yang
Ph.D. student, Tianjian Yang, is a finalist for the Eastman Chemical Student Award in Applied Polymer Science.

Tianjian Yang, a Ph.D. student in the IMS Polymer Program, has been selected as a finalist for the Eastman Chemical Student Award in Applied Polymer Science.  The award recognizes graduate researchers who demonstrate research excellence in both research and technical presentations.

Tianjian earned his M.S. degree from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.S. from Jinan University in China.  A student in Dr. Yao Lin’s group, his research interests include supramolecular polymerization and material properties of polypeptides. He is first author of several published research papers.

In August 2024, as part of the Eastman Chemical Award Symposium at the Fall 2024 ACS Meeting in Denver, Colorado, each finalists will give a presentation. Tianjian will present, “From Polypeptides to Biomimetic Materials: Harnessing Auto-Accelerated ROP-NCA for Tailored Mechanical Properties”.

To learn more about the award, visit:  https://pmsedivision.org/eastman-student-award/