Our work has focused on the development of new plastics (polymers) that are designed for function. Some of this work has led to the invention of polymers that incorporate atoms like selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te). Other work has used Nature’s functional molecules to build polymers for energy harvesting and storage. While most of the projects have an application in mind (one has even led to the start-up company Pliant Power Devices), we are most proud of the impact we have had in fundamental science and in particular of our ability to imagine new compositions of matter, create and study that matter in the laboratory, and learn a great deal along the way.
