Materials Engineering & Nanotechnology Research

Our group focuses on the synthesis of well-defined nanoparticles, their dispersion into polymer solutions and melts, and their suspension rheology. With our fundamental studies, we seek to optimize processing to achieve a desirable microstructure in industrial suspensions, and to set a foundation for developing constitutive rheological models.

Bates research group synthesizes catalysts with well-defined structures and use quantitative kinetic measurements and characterizations of their active centers to elucidate structure–reactivity relationships.

We are interested in the tailored synthesis of new materials at multiple length scales. At the molecular scale, the physical properties of materials are largely dependent on the stoichiometry and stable structures that can be formed. 

Geoffrey M. Geise is an associate professor at the University of Virginia with appointments in chemical engineering and materials science and engineering (by courtesy). At UVA, his research focuses on studying the fundamentals of chemically- and electrochemically-driven small molecule transport in polymeric membranes for clean water and energy.

Joshua Choi joined UVa in 2014 and is a recipient of a NASA Early Career Faculty Award (2015). His research group is developing novel and advanced synthetic methods to achieve robust heterostructure formation, surface structure and impurity doping. They seek to understand and control the structure-property relationships in these materials. 

Kyle Lampe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Virginia, and by courtesy, Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience.

The Caliari Lab designs, synthesizes, and characterizes new biomaterials to explore the dynamic interplay between cells and their microenvironment, applying these platforms to address fundamental human health challenges in understanding disease and engineering tissues.