Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology
Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre, QNC 3606
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West,
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1
519-888-4567, ext. 38654
win@uwaterloo.ca
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Research interests: surfaces and interaction of softmaterials (polymers, proteins, colloids) at the nanoscale
At Waterloo, Professor Jamie Forrest is head of the Polymer Physics group that works out of a $2 million facility funded by the federal and provincial governments. The facility provides a wide variety of characterization techniques to study synthetic polymer and proteins in thin films or near surfaces and interfaces.
A particular strength of the Polymer Physics group is the investigation of the glass transition and associated dynamics in thin polymer films. This is combined with detailed investigations into the static structural properties, as well as surface and interfacial properties. Recently they have begun investigations into a number of biological systems which include the kinetics of protein adsorption onto surfaces as well as the structure of adsorbed proteins. We pursue both applied and fundamental problems and continue to make significant scientific advances in physics, chemistry, biology and health sciences.
Forrest’s group is widely published, including a recent article in Science Magazine that showed how solids behave like liquids at the nanoscale. The discovery was considered a major step forward in measuring polymer substances using nanoscale technology. For this, and many of his contributions to the field of polymer physics, Forrest was elected as a 2009 fellow of the American Physical Society, a leading organization of physicists, including 60 Nobel Laureates.
Forrest obtained a BSc from the University of British Columbia and an MSc/PhD from the University of Guelph. He worked at Chalmers University in Sweden and the University of Sheffield in England, before coming to University of Waterloo in 2000.
2013 | Co-recipient of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) Brockhouse Medal |
The Waterloo Polymer Physics group has made many important contributions to the study of the glass transition in thin polymer films. The general premise of such studies is that the dynamics in thin films can be significantly different from that of the bulk polymer. From an applied point of view the glass transition is an important parameter describing the temperature dependent dynamics of the system. These properties in turn largely determine which application a particular material is suited for. From a more fundamental viewpoint, thin polymer films provide excellent sample geometry for studying what are termed finite size effects in model glass forming materials. This may lead to significant advances in our understanding of this outstanding unsolved problem in condensed matter physics. Our studies here have focused on measurements of the glass transition temperature, as well as more direct studies of the dynamics. We have used ellipsometry, photon correlation spectroscopy, dielectric relaxation, quartz crystal microbalance, and inelastic neutron scattering in these studies.
There are a number of reasons to think that the properties of polymers may be different at interfaces and surfaces than in the bulk of a material. We have been actively involved in this area from looking at the adhesion of micron sized particles to Porous Silicon (PS) surfaces, embedding of nm sized particle to PS surfaces and looking at interface formation between miscible and immiscible blends when one of the constituents is still in a glassy state.
Structural as well dynamical properties can be different in a thin film geometry. We are interested in fundamental questions such as, "What is the density in a thin film?" as well as more applied questions like, "What is the composition in blended systems, or those with impurities?". Our studies in this are span a very wide range. We have used optical scattering techniques, microscopy, dynamics secondary ion mass spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to study these sample.
Proteins have specific conformations which define their biologically active state. These configurations are typically determined by the details of interactions between the different constituent monomers as well as interactions with the aqueous solution. This delicate balance of interactions which is required to have a protein remain in a biologically active state can be significantly perturbed by the presence of
interfaces. The monomer-surface interaction can potentially be much stronger than hydropobic interactions which cause the molecule to campactify and leave open the possibility not only for the protein to adsorb onto the surface but also to denature onto it. We are beginning to investigate proteins at interfaces.
Recent publications include:
Cooperative strings and glassy interfaces, Salez, Thomas; Salez, Justin; Dalnoki-Veress, Kari; Raphael, Elie; Forrest, James A., PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 112(27), 8227-8231, (2015)
Competitive Effects from an Artificial Tear Solution to Protein Adsorption, Hall, Brad; Jones, Lyndon W.; Forrest, James A., OPTOMETRY AND VISION SCIENCE, 92(7), 781-789, (2015)
Kinetics of Competitive Adsorption between Lysozyme and Lactoferrin on Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses and the Effect on Lysozyme Activity, Hall, Brad; Jones, Lyndon; Forrest, James A., CURRENT EYE RESEARCH, 40(6), 622-631, (2015)
Enhanced high-frequency molecular dynamics in the near-surface region of polystyrene thin films observed with beta-NMR, McKenzie, Iain; Daley, Chad R.; Kiefl, Robert F.; Levy, C. D. Philip; MacFarlane, W. Andrew; Morris, Gerald D.; Pearson, Matthew R.; Wang, Dong; Forrest, James A., SOFT MATTER, 11(9), 1755-1761, (2015)
Enhanced Photothermal Conversion in Vertically Oriented Gallium Arsenide Nanowire Arrays, Walia, Jaspreet; Dhindsa, Navneet; Flannery, Jeremy; Khodabad, Iman; Forrest, James; LaPierre, Ray; Saini, Sirnarjeet S., NANO LETTERS, 14(10), 5820-5826, (2014)
Extraction versus In Situ Techniques for Measuring Surface-Adsorbed Lysozyme, Hall, Brad; Phan, Chau-Minh; Subbaraman, Lakshman; Jones, Lyndon W.; Forrest, James, OPTOMETRY AND VISION SCIENCE, 91(9), 1062-1070, (2014)
When Does a Glass Transition Temperature Not Signify a Glass Transition?, Forrest, J. A.; Dalnoki-Veress, K., ACS MACRO LETTERS, 3(4), 310-314, (2014)
A Direct Quantitative Measure of Surface Mobility in a Glassy Polymer, Chai, Y.; Salez, T.; McGraw, J. D.; Benzaquen, M.; Dalnoki-Veress, K.; Raphael, E.; Forrest, J. A., SCIENCE, 343(6174), 994-999, (2014)
Dynamics near Free Surfaces and the Glass Transition in Thin Polymer Films: A View to the Future, Ediger, M. D.; Forrest, J. A., MACROMOLECULES, 47(2), 471-478, (2014)
Diameter Dependent Heating in GaAs Nanowires, Walia, Jaspreet; Dhindsa, Navneet; Flannery, Jeremy; Khodadad, Iman; Forrest, James; LaPierre, Ray; Saini, Simarjeet, 2014 IEEE 14TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NANOTECHNOLOGY (IEEE-NANO), 893-895, (2014)
Please see James Forrest's Google Scholar profile for a current list of his peer-reviewed articles.
Office: PHY 316
Phone: 519-888-4567, ext.35212
Email: jforrest@uwaterloo.ca
Personal Website: James Forrest
Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology
Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre, QNC 3606
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West,
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1
519-888-4567, ext. 38654
win@uwaterloo.ca
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Indigenous Initiatives Office.