Michael Tam

Professor Tam recently moved from Singapore to Canada and joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo as a tenured full professor. He was hired to teach and conduct research in Chemical Engineering and Nanotechnology Michael was born in Malaysia, and he studied Chemical Engineering at Monash University, Australia, and graduated with a Ph.D. in 1991. He then spent 18 months on a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Bob Pelton at the Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Canada. In 1992, he took up an academic position at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and was promoted to full professor in 2004. He moved to the University of Waterloo in July 2007. Professor Tam is married with two teenage daughters. He enjoys travelling, hiking, and spending time with his undergraduate and graduate students.

Tam's research interest focuses on the microscopic and macroscopic properties of self-assembly systems such as surfactants, block copolymers, and associative polymers. The scope of his research includes polymer synthesis using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), physical characterization using light scattering (static and dynamic), rheometry, and calorimetry (ITC and DSC). The objectives is to correlate the polymer architecture to the microscopic and macroscopic properties of novel self assembly systems. The potential applications of his research are in enhanced drug release, gene therapy, bio and chemical separations, and environmentally friendly coating systems.

McMaster University Postdoctoral Fellowship 1990-1992
Harold Jan Shoemaker Award for best paper published in Journal of Hydraulic Research between 1990 and 1992. Award presented by International Association for Hydraulic Research
Tan Chin Tuan Fellowship at Physical Chemistry Div, Lund University (June 05)

Professor Tam is involved in the teaching of undergraduate courses in Chemical and Nanotechnology Engineering. He has developed two new new courses, an undergraduate course on Macromolecular Engineering for Applications in Nanotechnology, and a graduate course on Fundamentals of Nanotechnology - Self Assembly Phenomena and Self Assembly Tools.

Chemistry for Engineers (CHE 102)

Topics covered include atoms and the atomic theory, chemical compounds and reactions, gases, Thermochemistry, liquids, solids, and intermolecular forces, chemical kinetics, principles of chemical equilibrium.

Textbook-General Chemistry: Principles & Modern Applications, 9th Ed., by Petrucci, Harwood, Herring and Madura, Prentice-Hall.

Macromolecular Science 2 (NE335)

This course is taught to 3B Nanotechnology Engineering students at UW. It covers aspects related to macromolecules in nanotechnology, biomacromolecules, and nanostructure polymers including examples of applications of macromolecules in the nanoworld.

Course Content: Introduction to the applications of macromolecules in nanotechnology. Block copolymers and self-assembled polymerization. Micelles and colloids. Dendrimers and molecular brushes. Supramolecular polymers, polymeric blends and macromolecular nanocomposites. Polymer templates. Applications in the manufacturing of nanostructured materials and nanoscale devices.

Fundamentals of Nanotechnology- Self assembly phenomena and self assembly tools (Nano 701C and 702C)

This course is now offered to graduate students in the Nanotechnology Engineering graduate program. The course introduces the self-assembly phenomena and self-assembly tools to our nanotechnology graduate students.

Course content: Introduction to self–assembly, self–assembly in bulk and interfaces, basic concepts and examples, surfactant system, block copolymer- melt and solutions, DNAs, proteins, lipids, biomimetic systems, Applications of self-assembly system. Introduction to tools for quantifying self-assembly processes, Scattering techniques (Light, x-ray and neutron scattering), Surface characterisation tools, tensiometry, surface plasmon, DPI, ellipsometry, Thermodynamic characterisation tools, Calorimetry, Physical characterisation tools – fluorescence spectrometry.