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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
UConn’s Future Climate Venture Studio has created a fellowship program designed to provide tangible experiences for students interested in learning in start-ups, marketing, commercialization, venture development, and research around climate change. Materials Science PhD. student, Amy Pollock, is one of three UConn graduate students to receive the fellowship. Fellows were selected for their excellent writing skills, science, technical, or business background, interest in the entrepreneurial process, interest in addressing climate change, and their ability to work independently and handle confidential material. The program partners each student with 2 start-up companies that need advice and/or assistance within a specific discipline. This enables the companies to have access to scientist working in their field while the students gain insight regarding the many challenges of creating and maintaining a startup company. The program is one more example of UConn’s support of entrepreneurship for both students as well as faculty.
2023 Polymer Program Distinguished Alumni Dr. Jaime A. Gómez (center) with Polymer Program Director Dr. Kelly Burke (left) and Dr. Luyi Sun (right)
The polymer program honored Dr. Jaime A. Gómez as the 2023 Distinguished Alumni.
Dr. Gomez completed his Polymer Ph.D. at UConn in 1989 before beginning his career as a scientist and organizational leader. He has had a successful career including both research and leadership roles. On Friday, September 8, he opened the fall 2023 Polymer Seminar series with his talk titled, “Unexpected Challenges in the Life of a Polymer Scientist”. The talk included stories of research, product development, and exploring various real world challenges during his 30-year career as a polymer scientist. The theme of his presentation is that scientists build a foundation of knowledge and skills during their academic career, but face new and unexplored fields in the industrial setting.
Polymer Program Director Dr. Kelly Burke (l) presents the Distinguished Alumni Award to Dr. Jaime A. Gómez
Dr. Gómez received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Colombia, an MS in Organic Chemistry from Wichita State University, Kansas, and a Ph.D. in Polymer Science from the University of Connecticut. In addition to his scientific education, Dr. Gómez received an MBA from New York University (Stern School of Business) with concentration in International Business, Finance & Marketing. Dr. Gómez has 30-years of industry experience that includes plastics, specialty chemicals, and materials handling—industries where he has conducted basic and applied research, evaluation and acquisitions of technologies and companies, international business development, and corporate strategic planning. Gómez is currently President & CEO of Equitech, a company dedicated to the in-line measurement of chemical concentration, and color and film thickness for a myriad of industries.
Dr. Jaime A. Gómez presents at the Polymer Program Distinguished Alumni Seminar
Dr. Gómez has been an active member and leader of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) for the past 35 years. He joined the Society ofPlastics Engineers in 1987 while pursuing his Polymer Ph.D. here at the UConn, serving as the SPE’s Student Chapter President for two terms. He also served as a member of SPE’s Extrusion Division Board of Directors for six years and helped establish the Next Generation Advisory Board (NGAB). Dr. Gómez has been a member of SPE’s Board of Directors since 2013 and has served as SPE’s Secretary, Treasurer, VP Marketing & Communications, VP Events, and President-Elect. He received SPE’s President’s Cup in 2014 and the Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2017. He also invented and directed The Plastics Race™, an event that promotes networking and knowledge exchange between SPE members. Gómez was named President of SPE for the 2020-2021 term.
Dr. Montgomery “Monty” Shaw addresses attendees at the Montgomery Shaw Symposium.
Polymer rheology expert, Montgomery (Monty) Shaw, was celebrated at the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE) Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ANTEC) in Denver Colorado this past March. Over the past 30+ years, Dr. Shaw made vital contributions to polymer science and engineering that were shared in over 200 seminars and courses taught at the University of Connecticut. His books: Introduction to Polymer Rheology; Electrorheology; Water Treeing in Solid Dielectrics; and Introduction to Polymer Viscoelasticity have received citing by thousands of scientists and have been used in curriculums throughout the world. These books have been valued for both content and the method of communicating the ideas. His lifelong contributions to polymer science and engineering were celebrated at the daylong event. The symposium, organized by UConn’s Prof. Luyi Sun and Prof. Emertus Robert Weiss, included 13 speakers from both industry and academia.
Dr. Shaw’s began his career at Union Carbide Corp. before joining the University of Connecticut’s Polymer Program as a Professor of Chemical Engineering in 1978. He also gained experience with two year-long sabbaticals at DuPont and Sandia National Laboratories. Dr. Shaw states that, “if you change your environment, you learn new things”. This variety of experience helped him see various aspects of the field and recognize the importance of practical applications in academic research. His peers boast about the deep level of investigation Dr. Shaw made in all the details of rheology. This level of understanding sheds light on every step of the process, leaving nothing unseen.
Shaw Symposium presenters gathered for a photo with Dr. Shaw.
During his more than 30 years as a UConn faculty member, Dr. Shaw was the major advisor of 44 students, helping develop the next generation of polymer scientists. Although he retired in 2009, Dr. Shaw continues to train and assist the students and faculty of the UConn IMS Polymer Program. He also served in leadership roles for the Society of Rheology. His positive attitude and love for science has made Dr. Shaw an integral leader of the Polymer community at the University of Connecticut and throughout the world.
Details of the symposium can be found at this LINK.
Students and industry partners interact during 2023 Polymer Program/MSE Joint Poster Session
The IMS Polymer Program, IMS Materials Science Program, and the Materials Science and Engineering Department held their first in-person poster session since 2019 in the brand new building, Science 1. The COVID pandemic put this traditional event on hold for 3 years. Forty two graduate students from twenty research labs presented posters. Students welcomed the opportunity to share their research and ideas with other students, faculty, and guests from industry. The session, coordinated alongside the IMS Industrial Affiliates Program (IAP) 2023 Annual Meeting, brought over 100industry partners to meet the students and faculty participants. The new building with its open layout added energy to the event. IMS thanks participants for a truly successful day.
