We are currently supporting three main research areas and each can be divided into a number of ongoing projects. Older project areas include biomaterial/protein interactions and protein-nanoparticle interaction.
Polymer Stable Glass
Our group is heavily focused on the creation of stable glasses using physical vapour deposition of polymeric materials. We have created monodisperse ultrastable glasses from polystyrene and plan to extend this work to other polymers and greater chain lengths. This work is an exciting dive into cutting edge research!
Thin Film Dynamics & Glass Transition
This part of our research applies experimental methods to gain new insight into the physical mechanisms of thin films and the glass transition. Since the geometries of thin films are on the nanoscale, dynamics of these systems act differently to systems on the macroscale and require specialized study.
Models of Dynamics in Glassy Systems
A more theoretical aspect of our group's research delves into the physical and mathematical models of glassy systems. This includes glassy dynamics, cooperative strings, and relaxations of these systems.