Biography

Professor Evans received his bachelors in both Chemical Engineering as well as Chemistry from the University of Minnesota and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University. Following a brief stint at UC Berkeley, he moved to UC Santa Barbara to continue his postdoc. He joined the faculty at UIUC in 2016. His professional awards include the Ryan Fellowship, 3M Fellowship, AkzoNobel award, ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator award, ACS PMSE Young Investigator, and a 3M Non-tenured faculty award.

Research

The Evans group is interested in probing the physics of polymer networks with the incorporation of dynamic covalent bonds and added salts. We are pursuing a fundamental understanding of polymer properties such as energy dissipation, self-healing, crystallization, and transport of small molecules through the network. The group combines molecular design of precise polymers with advanced characterization approaches to determine structure-property relationships in dynamic, ionic networks. Application of networks in the group include supercapacitors, actuators, membranes, batteries, energy dissipation, and thermal management which are informed by our fundamental investigations. New directions in the lab include using synthetic polypeptides to design solid state materials with enhanced properties by harnessing the helical secondary structure of these molecules.

Education

  • 2013
    Northwestern University
    Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering

Positions

  • Present
    Associate Professor (Materials Science & Engineering)
    University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Publications

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