Bochinski Research Group^1.0

08-02-23: Applied Physics Letters has accepted Neelam and Brent's second paper.

06-14-23: Neelam's second paper "Enhancing ionic conductivity in polymer melts results in smaller diameter electrospun fibers" has been submitted to the journal Applied Physics Letters.

06-01-23: Brent Boland has received a Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Completion Grant. This grant "provides both funding and intensive mentoring to doctoral candidates who are within six months of completing their dissertations."

03-03-23: The March Meeting (Las Vegas, Nevada from March 5 - 10, 2023 (both in-person and online)) has several Bochinski group and collaboration presentations, including:

On Wednesday March 8, 2023 from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time) in poster session N00: Poster Session II: 026 Photothermal Heating of Gold Nanorods in Poly(ethyl cyanoacrylate) by Erin Crites, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed poster by Erin Crites]. (abstract)

On Friday March 10, 2023 from 8:00 - 8:12 AM (Pacific Standard Time) in session Y05: Hybrid and Multicomponent Polymer Materials Containing Nanoparticles II Can interparticle contacts in polymer nanocomposites be tuned via photothermal heating of the particle?
by Laura Clarke, Erin Crites, and Jason Bochinski
[contributed talk by Laura Clarke]. (abstract)

10-15-22: The American Physical Society has just announced that Dr. Clarke has received the Jonathan F. Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award for Excellence in Advanced Laboratory Instruction for 2023.

10-13-22: This evening NCSU Memorial Belltower on Hillsborough Street will be lighted red in honor of our colleague Dr. Laura Clarke winning the Board of Governor's Award!

11-04-21: Daniela's and Chelsea's paper entitled "Tracking the complete degradation lifecycle of poly(ethyl cyanoacrylate): from induced photoluminescence to nitrogen-doped nano-graphene precursor residue" (D. Fontecha, C. Mahn, J. R. Bochinski, and L. I. Clarke) has been accepted for publication in the journal Polymer Degradation and Stability.

09-08-21: Neelam's paper has been accepted and is available online as an Advanced Manuscript in the journal Soft Matter. Soft Matter, 2021, DOI: 10.1039/D1SM01101D.

07-28-21: Neelam's (and Brent's and Sam's) paper entitled "Increasing ionic conductivity within thermoplastics via commercial additives results in a dramatic decrease in fiber diameter from melt electrospinning" (N. Sheoran, B. Boland, S. Thornton, J. R. Bochinski, and L. I. Clarke) has been submitted for consideration for publication in Soft Matter.

01-19-21: The scientific program for the virtual March Meeting has several scientific presentations by the Bochinski group and collaborators:

On Tuesday March 16, 2021 from 3:00 PM – 3:12 PM (Central Daylight Time) in session Session J07: Electrostatic Manipulation of Fluids and Soft Matter I:
J07.00001: Influence of controlled ionic conductivity on melt electrospinning of polyethylene
by Neelam Sheoran, Brent Boland, Sam Thornton, Russell Gorga, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed talk by Neelam Sheoran]. (abstract)

On Wednesday March 17, 2021 from 11:15 AM - 1:15 PM (Central Daylight Time) in session M71: Poster Session II:
M71.00103 : Manipulating ionic conductivity in insulating thermoplastics by use of commercial additives: altering the fluid response to applied electric fields, motivated by electrospinning applications
by Sam Thornton, Neelam Sheoran, Brent Boland, Russell Gorga, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed poster given by Sam Thornton]. (abstract)

On Thursday March 18, 2021 from 4:12 PM – 4:48 PM (Central Daylight Time)in session Session V03: Highly Loaded and Morphologically Enhanced Polymer Nanocomposites:
V03.00004: Driving and manipulating polymer degradation in nanocomposites via photothermal heating of the particle
by Laura Clarke
[invited talk given by Dr. Laura Clarke]. (abstract)

05-06-20: The 2020 winner of the Rodney I. McCormick Award for Undergraduate Research in the Department of Physics is Daniela Fontecha. Congratulations, Daniela - well-deserved!

02-29-20: The APS 2020 March Meeting has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

02-18-20: Daniela is Ready to Put Science to Work.

01-13-20: The scientific program for the March Meeting reveals several upcoming scientific presentations by the Bochinski group and collaborators in Denver, CO:

On Monday March 2, 2020 in session D68: Highly Loaded and Morphologically Enhanced Polymer Nanocomposites:
D68.00004: Driving and manipulating polymer degradation in nanocomposites via photothermal heating of the particle
by Laura Clarke, Honglu Huang, Gabriel Firestone, Daniela Fontecha, Russell Gorga, and Jason Bochinski
[invited talk given by Dr. Clarke]. (abstract)

On Thursday March 5, 2020 in session U29: Electrostatic Manipulation of Fluids and Soft Matter I: Electrohydrodynamics:
U29.00009: Influence of ionic conductivity on unconfined melt electrospinning of thermoplastics
by Neelam Sheoran, Brent Boland, Elnaz Shabani, Russell Gorga, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed talk given by Neelam Sheoran]. (abstract)

U29.00010: Unconfined melt electrospinning from molten polymer experiencing an electric discharge to manipulate ion density and ionic conductivity
by Brent Boland, Neelam Sheoran, Laura Clarke, and Jason Bochinski
[contributed talk given by Brent Boland]. (abstract)

01-02-20: Latest accepted paper is now available online. (journal)

12-13-19: Honglu's paper is now available in its "Article ASAP" form.

12-02-19: Honglu's paper (our collaboration with Clarke Group and Gorga Lab) entitled "Nanoparticle-based photothermal heating to drive chemical reactions within a solid: using inhomogeneous polymer degradation to manipulate mechanical properties and segregate carbonaceous by-products" (H. Huang, G. Firestone, D. Fontecha, R. E. Gorga, J. R. Bochinski, and L. I. Clarke) has been accepted for publication by the journal Nanoscale.

08-09-19: Gabe's paper (from our collaboration with Clarke Group) entitled "Photothermally-driven thermo-oxidative degradation of low density polyethylene: heterogeneous heating plus a complex reaction leads to homogeneous chemistry" (G. Firestone, H. Huang, J. R. Bochinski, and L. I. Clarke) has been accepted for publication by the journal Nanotechnology.

03-04-19: Scientific presentations by the Bochinski Research Group and friends at the 2019 APS Annual Meeting in Boston, MA from March 4 - 8 include:

On Monday March 4, 2019 in session B50: UKPPG/DPOLY Polymer Lecture Exchange: Advances in Film Formation and Chain Dynamics:
B50.00004: Strategies to improve the unconfined melt electrospinning process via incorporation of ionically conductive particles
by Elnaz Shabani, Chengxi Li, Rebecca J. Komer, Laura Clarke, Jason R. Bochinski, Russell E. Gorga, Brenton Boland, and Neelam Sheoran
[contributed talk given by Elnaz Shabani, Gorga Lab]. (abstract)

On Tuesday March 5, 2019 in session H42: Dillon Medal Symposium:
H42.00010: Heterogeneous polymer degradation due to photothermal heating
by Laura Clarke, Honglu Huang, Gabriel Firestone, Russell Gorga, and Jason Bochinski
[invited talk given by Dr. Clarke]. (abstract)

On Wednesday March 6, 2019 in session L70: Poster Session II:
L70.00066: Influence of salt additives on unconfined melt electrospinning of thermoplastics
by Neelam Sheoran, Brenton Boland, Elnaz Shabani, Russell E Gorga, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed poster given by Neelam Sheoran and Brenton Boland]. (abstract)

On Thursday March 7, 2019 in session S49: Polymers in Reactive Conditions:
S49.00005: Photothermally-driven oxidative degradation of LDPE nanocomposites containing plasmonic nanoparticle
by Gabriel Firestone, Honglu Huang, Russell E Gorga, Laura Clarke, and Jason Bochinski
[contributed talk given by Gabriel Firestone]. (abstract)

02-20-19: Gabriel Firestone defended his doctoral thesis in Physics entitled "Molecular Fluorescence Thermometry to Probe Photothermal Heating in Polymer Films."

06-26-18: Honglu Huang defended her doctoral thesis in Textile Engineering entitled "An Investigation of Polymer Degradation Driven by Photothermal Heating of Metallic Nanoparticles."

03-07-18: Scientific presentations by the Bochinski Research Group and friends at the 2018 APS Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, CA include:

On Wednesday March 7, 2018 in session P46: Polymer Nanocomposites :
P46.00006: Measuring heat transport within polymer nanocomposites via fluorescence thermometry
by Gabriel Firestone, Jeffrey Meth, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed talk given by Gabriel Firestone]. (abstract)

P46.00007: Steady-state temperature gradients within polymer nanocomposites undergoing continuous-wave photothermal heating
by Laura Clarke, Gabriel Firestone, Somsubhra Maity, and Jason Bochinski
[contributed talk given by Dr. Clarke]. (abstract)



P46.00010: Observing heterogeneous polymer degradation due to photothermal heating via electron imaging and optical measurements
by Honglu Huang, Daniela Fontecha, Gabriel Firestone, Russell Gorga, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed talk given by Honglu Huang]. (abstract)

On Wednesday March 7, 2018 in session L60: Poster Session II :
L60.00030: Photothermal heating as a strategy to align anisotropic metal nanoparticles within polymeric films
by Daniela Fontecha, Honglu Huang, Gabriel Firestone, Laura Clarke, and Jason Bochinski
[poster given by Daniela Fontecha]. (abstract)

12-18-17: Gabe's paper (from our collaboration with Clarke Group) entitled "Facile Measurement of Surface Heat Loss from Polymer Thin Films via Fluorescence Thermometry" (G. Firestone, J. R. Bochinski, J. S. Meth, and L. I. Clarke) has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics.

07-18-17: Som's paper (from our collaboration with Clarke Group)entitled "Nanoscale Steady-state Temperature Gradients within Polymer Nanocomposites Undergoing Continuous-Wave Photothermal Heating from Gold Nanorods" (S. Maity, Wei-Chen Wu, J. B. Tracy, L. I. Clarke, and J. R. Bochinski) has been accepted for publication by the journal Nanoscale.

01-09-17: Note, future scientific presentations by the Bochinski Research Group and friends which will be given at the 2017 APS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA include:

On Monday March 13, 2017 in session A10: Polymer Nanocomposites - Mechanics:
A10.00008: Controllable polymer degradation via photothermal heating of embedded metal nanoparticles
by Honglu Huang, Russell Gorga, Daniela Fontecha, Gabriel Firestone, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed talk given by Honglu Huang]. (abstract)

On Tuesday March 14, 2017 in Focus Session E10: Polymer Nanocomposites Related to Optical and Plasmonic Properties:
E10.00005: Probing polymer heat transport and dynamics via photothermal heating from metal nanoparticles
by Laura Clarke, Gabriel Firestone, and Jason Bochinski
[contributed talk given by Dr. Clarke]. (abstract)

E10.00008: Determining heat loss from the surface of polymer films via modeling of experimental fluorescence thermometry
by Gabriel Firestone, Jason Bochinski, Jeffrey Meth, and Laura Clarke
[contributed talk given by Gabriel Firestone]. (abstract)

12-06-16: Gabe and Ju's paper (from our collaboration with Clarke Group and Gorga Lab) entitled "In-situ curing of liquid epoxy via gold-nanoparticle mediated photothermal heating" by Ju Dong, Gabriel Firestone, Jason Bochinski, Laura Clarke, and Russell Gorga has been accepted for publication by the journal Nanotechnology. (See Publications to download.)

11-30-16: Vidya's paper (from our collaboration with Clarke Group and Gorga Lab) entitled "Enhanced crystallinity of polymer nanofibers without loss of nanofibrous morphology via heterogeneous photothermal annealing" by Vidya Viswanath, Somsubhra Maity, Jason Bochinski, Laura Clarke, and Russell Gorga has been accepted for publication by the journal Macromolecules. (See Publications to download.)

11-09-16: The Bochinski Research Group currently has an open graduate Research Assistant position for a skilled and motivated person to work on an interdisciplinary project, in collaboration with the Clarke Lab (Physics, Sciences) and Gorga Lab (TECS, Textiles). Interested graduate students should contact Dr. Bochinski for more information.

08-08-16: The Bochinski Research Group has received a new three-year experimental research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF): "Unconfined Melt Electrospinning with Control of Conductivity: A Green Processing Approach to Fabricate Small Diameter Fibers from Thermoplastics" is a project that will be led by Dr. Gorga [PI](Gorga Lab, TECS, College of Textiles, in collaboration with Dr. Bochinski [co-PI] and Dr. Clarke [co-PI](Clarke Lab, Department of Physics, College of Sciences).

01-11-16: Scientific presentations by the group and friends which will be given at the 2016 APS Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD include:

On Monday March 14, 2016 in Focus Session A38 Polymer Nanocomposites, Active Particles and Applications:
A38.00005: Driving degradation within biodegradable polymers with embedded nanoparticles
by Russell Gorga, Gabriel Firestone, Daniela Fontecha, Jason Bochinski, and Laura Clarke
[contributed talk given by Dr. Gorga]. (abstract)

A38.00007: In-situ curing of liquid epoxy via gold-nanoparticle mediated photothermal heating
by Gabriel Firestone, Ju Dong, Jason Bochinski, Russell Gorga, and Laura Clarke
[contributed talk given by Gabe Firestone]. (abstract)

On Wednesday March 16, 2016 in Session K4: From Nano to Meso: Assembly, Structure and Dynamics of Polymers and Polymer Nanocomposite Thin Films I - Industry Day:
K4.00002: Photothermal heating at the nano and meso scales within polymer nanocomposites
by Laura Clarke
[invited talk given by Dr. Clarke]. (abstract)

04-06-15: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has officially awarded a new experimental research grant to the Bochinski Group: "Triggering Chemical Degradation of Plastics at End of Life Using Light and Environmentally-Neutral Nanoparticles" is a nominally three-year project that will be led by Dr. Clarke [Principal Investigator] (Clarke Lab, Department of Physics, College of Sciences) in collaboration with Dr. Bochinski [co-PI] and Dr. Gorga [co-PI](Gorga Lab, TECS, College of Textiles).