Smart and Functional Materials

Smart and Functional Materials can be engineered to be dramatically stronger, conductive, reactive, reflective or optically tuned. Our scientists and engineers are working from the fundamentals and applying their thorough knowledge and expertise to development such materials.

This includes but is not limited to fundamental condensed matter physics, soft matter, materials characterization, nanomaterials, graphene and other 2D materials, quantum materials, nanoparticles, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, DNA self-assembly, biomaterial and nanocellulose, new materials for additive manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing), protein, enzymes, biopolymers, biomaterials, electronic and photo-active materials.

Theme Leads and Co-Leads

This group is by far the largest and most diverse in terms of research areas, and therefore it organizes itself via a group of seven faculty members serving as a committee:

Boxin Zhao (ChE) received his PhD from McMaster University in 2004. His research involves adhesion phenomena on the nanoscale and biomimicry.

Kyle Daun (MME) received his PhD in 2003 from the University of Texas at Austin, and his research involves laser-based nanoparticle metrology; gas phase nanoparticle synthesis; and gas dynamics and molecular dynamics.

John Honek (Chem, cross-appointed with Pharmacy) received his PhD in 1984 at McGill University and joined the University of Waterloo in 1986 in the Department of Chemistry. Working at the interface of chemistry and biochemistry, John’s research involves applying chemical and biochemical principles and techniques to the problems of protein and enzyme structure/function, and their applications for bionanotechnology in medicine.