Three outstanding young polymer scientists were awarded the 2015 Journal of Polymer Science poster prize for the Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY) at the March American Physical Society (APS) meeting.

Amanda Marciel, Center of Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois

Using a hybrid synthetic strategy based on linear DNA backbones, Amanda Marciel (Center of Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois, advised by Charles Schroeder) produces structurally defined branched polymer architectures. The approach enables precise control over branch placement, grafting density, and chemical identity of side branches.

Vaidyanathan Sethuraman (left), Department of Chemical Engineering, The University
of Texas, Austin and Dvora Perahia (right)

Vaidyanathan Sethuraman, advised by Venkat Ganesan in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, proposes a methodology to create ordered morphologies in block copolymer systems via coarse-grained simulations. He demonstrates that the mapping functions proposed for diblock copolymer melts are transferable to other polymer melts irrespective of the blockiness or overall composition.

Wei Zhang (right), School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin and Dvora Perahia (left)

By studying the surface decay – or smoothing – of organic glasses and polystyrenes embossed with gratings, the self-diffusion of the surface can be measured. Wei Zhang (School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin, co-authored by Caleb Brian and advisor Lian Yu) demonstrates that fast surface diffusion helps the formation of stable glasses.

Congratulations to Amanda, Vaidyanathan, and Wei!