Rigoberto Advincula

Rigoberto Advincula is a Governor's Chair Professor and Group Leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of Tennessee. His research and group interests are: design, synthesis, and characterization of polymers and nanomaterials capable of controlled-assembly, nanostructuring, and self-organization in ultrathin films and monoliths. This includes functional macromolecules, coordination polymerization, polymer brushes, electropolymerization, and preparation of nanoparticles and hybrid materials. Properties include: smart coatings, stimuli-responsive, toughened, conducting, energy translating, optically active, or biocompatible. Surface sensitive spectroscopy and microscopy is systematically utilized to probe materials properties at interfaces. They are also involved in investigating nanoparticles, nanostructured surfaces, nanocomposite materials, 3-D printing, coatings, biomaterials, and process development.

Dr. Advincula has led major projects including a fiber composite project with the DOE, EERE, AMO. He has a number of major awards with the American Chemical Society (ACS) and Fellow Honors; FRSC, FIMMM, NATAS Fellow, PMSE Fellow, Poly Fellow. Most recently he received Fellow status with the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the International Prize of the Society of Polymer Science of Japan (JSPS). He is most passionate in mentoring young minds in to the STEM disciplines.