Matthew Yates, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetic at the University of Rochester, presents Colloidal Engineering and Assembly: New Materials for Sensing, Controlled Release, and Membranes as part of ChBE's spring seminar series.

* Refreshments will be served at 3:30 PM in the Lower Level 1 Gossage Atrium
* Lecture commences at 4:00 PM in L1255 in the Ford ES&T Building

Seminar Abstract
An overview will be presented of novel techniques developed to engineer colloidal particles and to direct their assembly into thin films. The basic tools used for colloidal engineering include; surfactant mediated synthesis to manipulate particle size and shape, microencapsulation processes to control particle composition, and applied electric fields to direct particle assembly into structured thin films. These basic tools are combined to allow for the low-cost fabrication of particles and thin films with precise control of composition and structure across orders of magnitude in length scales. A wide range of materials have been targeted, including nanoporous crystals, proton conducting materials, biodegradable polymers, and fluorescent nanoparticles. The materials have application in membranes for fuel cells and chemical separations, fluorescent materials for biosensing, and materials for controlled release.