Doctoral student since Fall 2015
Department: Materials Science & Engineering
Contact: ebailey@seas.upenn.edu
Hometown: Pasadena, MD
Previous education:
BS in Materials Science & Engineering, University of Maryland College Park, 2015
Eric’s research focuses on fundamentally understanding multi-scale dynamics in polymer nanocomposites (or nanoparticle polymer mixtures) using both experiments and simulations. Polymer nanocomposites are widely used in current technologies and are known to significantly impact mechanical, thermal, transport, and depending on the system, electrical and optical properties. However, a fundamental understanding of how microscopic properties dictate macroscopic behaviors remains elusive. As such, Eric studies the dynamics of polymer chains in the presence of nanoparticles from segmental relaxations (sub-chain) to diffusive center-of-mass motions (whole-chain). Eric is also interested in understanding the inverse problem, which is how nanoparticles relax and diffuse in a polymer melt. Among other experimental techniques, his research primarily uses elastic recoil detection, broadband dielectric spectroscopy, and quasi-elastic neutron scattering. Eric also conduct coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to probe various properties in these materials and provide insights into experimental observations. Eric is an NSF GRFP Fellow.
Outside of work, Eric enjoys sports and anything outside.