Research Group Website

Educational qualifications

Postdoctoral Associate, Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara  (2007-2010)
Ph.D., Materials Chemistry, University of Minnesota (2007)
B.S., Chemistry, Michigan State University (2002)

Research

We carry out fundamental and applied research in polymer science guided by the principles of simplicity, sustainability, and relevance to key technological challenges in chemical engineering for the 21st century in energy, environment, security, and materials for healthcare. Synthesis is the primary tool that we use to answer fundamental questions, and bring to bear in applied research projects. However, modeling efforts may be used to facilitate materials design, and to provide context for the interpretation of data. Particularly, we are engaged in research efforts that create and utilize new functional and reactive polyether materials and block polymers. Newer work is built on a foundation of novel techniques for advanced copolymer structure determination and detailed mechanistic understanding which facilitate the compositional control of structure-property-processing relationships.

Awards & Honors

• Macromolecules Editorial Advisory Board, 2021–2024
• ACS Macro Letters Editorial Advisory Board, 2019–2023
• 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, 2019–2020
• American Chemistry Society, Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (ACS PMSE) Arthur K. Doolittle Award, 2018
• University of Minnesota Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, 2006-2007
• Beaker and Bunsen Award, Graduate Research Symposium, University of Minnesota, Chemistry Dept., 2005

Selected Publications

•  Concurrent ring-opening/ring-closing polymerization of glycidyl acetate to acid-degradable poly(ether-co-orthoester) materials using a mono(µ-alkoxo)bis(alkylaluminum) initiator. Zhu, C.; Burkey, A. A.; Lynd, N. A. Macromolecules 2022, 55, 2797–2805. [link] Publication Date: March 16, 2022

• The impact of macromonomer size and content on branch distributions in model graft-through copolymerizations. Zografos, A.; Lynd, N. A.; Bates, F. S.; Hillmyer, M. A. ACS Macro Letters 2021, 10, 1622–1628. [link] Publication Date:December 3, 2021

• Boric acid removal with polyol-functionalized polyether membranes. Landsman, M. R.; Rivers, F.; Pedretti, B. J.; Freeman, B. D.; Lawler, D. F.; Lynd, N. A.; Katz, L. E. Journal of Membrane Science 2021, 638, 119690. [link] Publication Date: August 17, 2021.

• Relationship between ionic conductivity, glass-transition temperature, and dielectric constant in low-Tg poly(vinyl ether) lithium electrolytes. Imbrogno, J.; Maruyama, K.; Rivers, F.; Baltzegar, J. R.; Zhang, Z.; Meyer, P. W.; Ganesan, V.; Aoshima, S.; Lynd, N. A. ACS Macro Letters 2021, 10, 1002–1007. [link] Publication Date: July 19, 2021

• Mechanism of polymer-mediated cryopreservation using poly(methyl glycidyl sulfoxide). Burkey, A. A.; Hillsley, A. V.; Harris, D. T.; Baltzegar, J. R.; Zhang, D. Y.; Sprague, W. W.; Rosales, A. M.; Lynd, N. A. Biomacromolecules 2020, 21, 3047–3055. [link] Publication Date: July 10, 2020

• Compositionally-controlled polyether membranes via mono(µ-alkoxo)bis(alkylaluminum)-initiated chain-growth network epoxide polymerization: Synthesis and transport properties. Rodriguez, C. G.; Chwatko, M.; Park, J.; Bentley, C. L.; Freeman, B. D.; Lynd, N. A. Macromolecules 2020, 53, 1191–1198. [link] Publication Date: February 3, 2020

• Recommendation for the accurate determination of reactivity ratios in chain copolymerization. Lynd, N. A.; Ferrier, R. C.; Beckingham, B. S. Macromolecules 2019, 52, 2277–2285. [link] Minor correction of sign error in equation. [link] Publication Date: March 8, 2019

• Synthetic strategy for preparing chiral double-semicrystalline polyether block copolymers. McGrath, A.; Rodriguez, C. G.; Kramer, E. J.; Hawker, C. J.; Lynd, N. A. Polym. Chem. 2014, accepted.

• Numerical self-consistent field theory of multicomponent polymer blends in the Gibbs ensemble. Mester, Z.; Lynd, N. A.; Fredrickson, G. H. Soft Matter 2013, 9, 11288–11294.

• Physiologically relevant, pH-responsive PEG-based block and statistical copolymers with N,N-diisopropyl-amine units. Lee, A.; Lundberg, P.; Klinger, D.; Lee, B. F.; Hawker, C. J.; Lynd, N. A. Polym. Chem. 2013, 4, 5735–5742.

• pH-triggered self-assembly of biocompatible histamine-functional triblock copolymers. Lundberg, P.; Lynd, N. A.; Zhang, Y.; Zeng, X.; Krogstad, D. V.; Paffen, T.; Malkoch, M.; Nystrom, A. M.; Hawker, C. J. Soft Matter 2013, 9, 82–89.

• Poly[(ethylene oxide)-co-(methylene ethylene oxide)]: A hydrolytically degradable poly(ethylene oxide) platform. Lundberg, P.; Lee, B. F.; van den Berg, S. A.; Pressly, E. D.; Lee, A.; Hawker, C. J.; Lynd, N. A. ACS Macro Lett. 2012, 1, 1240–1243.

• Reactivity ratios and mechanistic insight for anionic ring-opening copolymerization of epoxides. Lee, B. F.; Wolffs, M.; Delaney, K. T.; Sprafke, J.; Leibfarth, F. A.; Hawker, C. J.; Lynd, N. A. Macromolecules 2012, 45, 3722–3731.