Group News & Events
2019
  • 1/17/19. A "viewpoint" article on Antibacterial Polymers co-authored by Ed, Karen Lienkamp, Beth Gillies, and Paul Ragogna has been accepted for publication in Angewandte Chemie. Congrats all!
  • 1/16/19. The group welcomes our new undergraduate researchers: Elliot Chen, Tashin Islam, Dongyu Yang, and Anqian Sun. Welcome all! More details to follow on the people page. 
​2018
  • 12/21/18. Our paper on photodynamic antibacterial oligothiophenes is accepted for publication in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces [link]. Congrats to co-authors Zhe Zhou and Cansu Ergene as well as our collaborators at Rowan University, Greg Caputo and Ben Carone and their undergraduate students Joshua Lee and David Shirley!
  • 11/14/18. Congratulations to Dr. Anthony D'Amato on successfully defending his thesis!! Having completed the Ph.D. in BME, he will move to Cornell as a PostDoc for Yadong Wang.
  • 10/17/18. Ed and Abraham Joy will co-organize a symposium on "Antimicrobial and Cell-Penetrating Polymers" at the 257th ACS National Meeting in Orlando, FL (March 31st - April 4th, 2019). Abstract submission via MAPS is now open! https://callforpapers.acs.org/orlando2019/PMSE.​
  • 8/3/18. Zhe Zhou's first paper is published in Macromolecules [link]. Congrats to ZZ!
  • 7/17/18. Ed is a guest instructor at Nanjing University in China, where he is teaching a 2 week summer course on Polymer Science to undergraduates. 
  • 7/11/18. Cansu's paper is accepted for publication in J. Mater. Chem. B [link]. This article was selected for two themed issue collections: HOT Papers and Emerging Investigators. Congrats Cansu!
  • ​3/7/18. Our invited review article on antibacterial polymers is published in Polymer Chemistry.   [link] Congrats to coauthors Cansu Ergene and Kazuma Yasuhara (NAIST, Japan)! The article was published as Open Access under a CC BY-NC license - free to use for any non-commercial purpose with attribution.
  • 2/12/18. The lab welcomes a new Postdoctoral Researcher, Dr. Ao Chen, from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at the University of Queensland. Ao earned his PhD in 2017 under the supervision of Prof. Andrew Whittaker.
  • 1/12/18. Ed was selected as a 2018 ACS PMSE Young Investigator! This distinction is meant to honor young researchers who have made significant contributions to their respective fields within Polymer Science and Engineering. Awardees will present their work in the PMSE Young Investigator Symposium at the Fall 2018 ACS National Meeting in Boston.
2017
  • 9/21/17. Based on a collaboration between the Y. Shi and Palermo labs, Binghui's paper on a course grain reactive MD model for polymer brushes was accepted to Polymer. Congrats Binghui!
  • 9/7/17. Cansu's first paper on self-immolative antibacterial polymers was accepted for publication in Biomacromolecules. Congrats Cansu!
  • 6/7/17. Ed was honored to be a guest instructor at Nanjing University in China, where he taught a 2 week summer course on Polymer Science to undergraduates. Thanks to the great faculty and students at NJU who made it such an amazing experience!
  • 5/23/17. Ed's proposal to the American Chemical Society - Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF), titled "Synthesis of Advanced Functional Self-Immolative Polymers" has been recommended for funding as a Doctoral New Investigator Award (DNI) . Thanks PRF!
  • 5/22/17. Our paper in collaboration with the Ullal Lab has been accepted for publication in Chemistry of Materials. Congratulations to first author Hari Vijayamohanan!
  • 7/10/17. Ed has won the NSF CAREER Award from the DMR-Biomaterials program for his proposal "Biomimetic Macromolecules at the Materials-Microbe Interface".  This funding will support one of our lab's key projects for the next five years. Many thanks to the NSF!

2016
  • 6/24/16. In collaboration with Chaitanya Ullal's lab, our joint proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) CHE-MSN entitled “Photochromic Switching for Nanostructured Polymer Gels” has been recommended for funding! Thanks NSF!
  • 6/8/16. Welcome to our newest graduate student research assistant Zhe Zhou!
  • 6/3/16. Welcome to our LSAMP REU summer student Sadjo Sidikou! She is visiting us from the University of Maryland - Baltimore County (Chemical Engineering)
  • 5/28/16. Graduation Day! Congratulations to Utthara Ramesbabu (BS in MSE), as she will be going to Northwestern University for her Ph.D.
  • 2/8/16. The Palermo lab was selected to receive a 3M Nontenured Faculty Award! The gift will support our project entitled "Biorepsonsive Polymer Surfaces as Antifouling Coatings" Many thanks to 3M for their support!
  • 1/1/16. Welcoming a new URP undergraduate researcher Sam Ellman (Chemistry)!

2015
  • 8/5/15. Congratulations to Cansu Ergene for receiving one of the inaugural RPI Presidential Graduate Research Fellows Program grants. This fellowship will support her research for two years.
  • 5/28/15. Congratulations to Cansu Ergene for passing her oral exam Ph.D. qualifiers! The exam tests students' knowledge of materials structure, mechanical properties, thermodynamics & kinetics, and electrical, magnetic and optical properties.
  • 5/26/15. Utthara Rameshbabu will spend the summer doing research with our collaborator, Kazuma Yasuhara, at the Nara Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (NAIST) in Nara, Japan!
  • 3/13/15. Our grant proposal to the Army Research Office, entitled "STIR: Sequence-Controlled Polymerization on Facially Amphiphilic Templates at Interfaces" has been approved for funding! This Short Term Innovative Research (STIR) grant will stimulate a new direction in our higher risk project areas. Thanks ARO!

2014
  • 12/30/14. Happy Holidays! The website is now updated with pictures of our capital equipment. See the "facilities" tab for details.
  • 11/12/14. Welcome to our newest graduate student, Cansu Ergene!
  • 9/2/14. Our first undergraduate researcher, Utthara Rameshbabu (MSE class of 2016), has joined the Palermo group. Welcome!
  • 7/31/14. The Palermo Lab has officially started today! Lab renovations and ordering of capital equipment are now underway. Check back soon for pictures of the nascent laboratory...
  • ​4/28/14. Palermo Lab @ RPI website goes live!