This area encompasses the study of synthetic organic polymers and soft materials made from proteins and lipids. Ongoing work at USC includes the design and synthesis of novel biodegradable polymers that can be used as replacements for petroleum based plastics. Electronically conductive polymers for use in organic electronics (Organic Light Emitting Diodes and Photovoltaics), binders for next-generation battery technologies, and coatings to make water purification membranes resistant to fouling. Researchers at USC are also engineering new tissue scaffolds for regenerative medicine.
Active Faculty
Group
Barry Thompson
Eun Ji Chung
Wade Zeno
Peter Chung
James Boedicker
Qiming Wang
Moh El-Naggar
Steve Finkel
Ellis Meng
Andrea Hodge
Research Interests
Design of electroactive organic polymers
Design of self-assembling, multimodal micelle nanoparticles
Tools to understand and control the protein-lipid interface.
Physical properties of intrinsically disordered peptides
Microorganisms capable of synthesizing complex nanomaterials
Bacteria-material hybrid and plant-material hybrid
Electron transfer at the interface of biotic and abiotic systems
Evolution of bacterial cells in biofilms
Soft polymers as probes for neural recording arrays
Mechanical properties of cellular membranes