New ISM Member joins Georgetown Department of Chemistry

Nagarjuna Gavvalapalli has joined us from the University of Illinois@Urbana Champaign. He is in the Chemistry Department and provides expertise in synthetic macromolecular chemistry.

To push the frontiers of organic electronics, energy harvesting and storage systems, and extend their lifetime there is a need to develop smart materials that are programmable to self-assemble into desired structures, mechanically compliant, and self-healable.

Nag’s research program focuses on the rational design and development of smart functional organic polymers and nanostructures. His group’s core strength is the design, development, synthesis, and structural characterization of functional polymers and the self-assembly of organic molecules and nanostructures. Students in my research group are trained at the interfaces of organic chemistry, polymer chemistry and nanoscience, and gain expertise in the design and synthesis of small molecules, polymers and nano/colloidal particles. In addition to the synthesis of materials, students routinely perform electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electrochemical and optical characterization, alongside basic material characterization.

Current projects include Elastic and Self-healable Polymers for Organic Electronics and Shape Controlled Synthesis of Organic π-conjugated Nanoparticles.