There are always many things that are underway. Multi-disciplinary research environments always gives me a great opportunity to tinker with many things at once.
Because I like playing with big toys and enjoy maths, my research interests are are grouped around nanoscale processes with an emphasis on mathematical descriptions of these systems.
The motivations for doing research, however, are much more than just playing with expensive toys or solving differential equations. I, along with many other chemists today, am working to improve the sustainability of modern chemistry and the broader chemical and manufacturing industries. In particular, given the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels for use as petrochemical feedstocks and the social and environmental problems associated with landfill disposal of waste, I am interested in substitutes for the raw materials that are used for current chemistry and the utilisation of both industrial and post-consumer "waste" streams.
Based on my research experience, I am being drawn to the study of polymers made from renewable materials (e.g., biopolymers) which may be substituted for current petrochemical polymers in both high-value-added and commodity applications.
At present, I'm only working slowly towards these goals, but in the future, my research interests will focus on:
- improving the use and reuse of renewable raw materials in polymeric systems (synthesis and characterisation of novel polymer architectures)
- understanding better the interactions and behaviour of biopolymers at surfaces to use as substitutes for petrochemical polymers in industrial and pharmaceutical colloidal systems
- undertaking the rational design of functional materials using biopolymers and nanoparticles with a particular focus on optical materials for sensing and photonic applications
- developing novel instrumental tools for understanding surface chemistry
My current research projects (below) and previous projects probably gives a better picture of what that means in reality.
Specifically, I am currently working on (and can talk about here):
Last edited: Monday September 18, 2006
Copyright © 1996-2008 Stuart Prescott
