Epscor research fellows: NSF: automated discovery of controlled radical polymerization approaches for olefin-containing copolymers

The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded $199,363 to the University of Southern Mississippi on January 15, 2027, under the EPSCOR Research Fellows program (CFDA 47.083) to support automated discovery of controlled radical polymerization approaches for olefin-containing copolymers.

The University of Southern Mississippi's team, led by an assistant professor and a graduate student, will develop synthetic strategies for creating copolymers combining olefins and standard polar vinyl monomers with controllable size, shape, and olefin incorporation. The project leverages robotic chemistry platforms to screen synthetic conditions for high olefin incorporation, with the goal of producing copolymers exhibiting exceptional mechanical and adhesive properties. Work is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Craig Hawker at the University of California Santa Barbara. The research infrastructure improvement project incorporates principles of automated experimentation into the principal investigator's teaching and outreach activities to disseminate high-throughput experimentation knowledge across Mississippi.

The award runs through December 31, 2028, with place of performance in Santa Barbara, California.

Abstract

This research infrastructure improvement (RII) epscor research fellows project provides a fellowship to an assistant professor and graduate student at the university of southern mississippi. The work will be conducted in collaboration with DR. Craig hawker at the university of california santa barbara (ucsb). Through the fellowship, the principal investigator (PI)'s team will create copolymers of olefins and standard polar vinyl monomers with controllable size, shape, and olefin incorporation. Specifically, the project will leverage robotic chemistry platforms to screen many promising synthetic conditions for high olefin incorporation. Successful completion of this project will yield strategies for creating olefin-containing copolymers with exceptional mechanical and adhesive properties. Principles of automated experimentation will be incorporated into the PI's outreach and teaching, spreading the ideas behind high-throughput experimentation across the state of mississippi. Polyolefins and polar vinyl polymers dominate the polymer landscape, accounting for approximately 70% of the 430 million tons of polymer produced in 2025. Attempts to synthesize polymers that exhibit features of olefins and polar vinyl monomers (pvms) are limited to a narrow compositional window of