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Detailed Information

Programs of Study

The Polymer Program is primarily a Ph.D. program. The first year is dedicated mostly to six core courses—Polymer Synthesis, Polymer Physics, Polymer Properties, Polymer Characterization I and II, and Polymer Physical Chemistry—and the General Examination. A thesis adviser and an advisory committee are selected in the first semester. Research, completion of the Ph.D. course requirements, oral presentations, and thesis writing occupy most of the subsequent years. The average completion time for the Ph.D. degree is four years. The program’s 14 faculty members are drawn from various departments, including Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, and Molecular and Cell Biology. This allows students and faculty members to collaborate across departmental boundaries and explore special areas of cutting-edge research. Specific areas of research and their applications are numerous and include nanomaterials/nanocomposites, biopolymers, sensors, electronic/photonic polymers, polymers for energy storage and generation, structure and function of proteins, DNA, and molecular simulations and computational studies of complex systems.

Research Facilities

Through the Institute of Materials Science (IMS), students and faculty members have complete access to modern, environmentally controlled research laboratories containing more than $20 million in equipment. The Institute has extensive state-of-the-art facilities, including laboratories in surface science; laser materials interactions; X-ray diffraction; electron optics, including TEM, SEM, and ESEM; biomaterials; solid freeform fabrication; nanomaterials; optoelectronics; polymer rheology; polymer synthesis and processing; casting; mechanical testing; NMR; thermal analysis; GPC; infrared spectrometers; and image analysis. The mission of the IMS, established in 1965 by the Connecticut General Assembly, is to provide superior graduate research education in the interdisciplinary fields of materials science and engineering, maintain an outstanding research center, and provide materials-related technical outreach to Connecticut’s industry. More than 100 faculty members from over twenty different departments are affiliated with IMS. IMS plays a key role in promoting the state of Connecticut’s nanotechnology initiatives. The IMS laboratories also support research in metallurgy, biomaterials, and electrical insulation, which fosters interaction with scientists in other areas of materials science. The laboratories are supported by a machine shop and an electronics shop in the IMS building.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is usually offered to those students who are admitted into a Ph.D. program. Nearly all current Ph.D. students receive full assistantships. The stipends are generally higher than those of similar programs at other universities. The twelve-month stipend for 2008–09 for a student entering with a bachelor’s degree is $25,465 and with a master’s degree, $26,795. The amount of the stipend normally increases on completion of the course requirements for the M.S. degree and again on passing the general examination for the Ph.D. In addition to the stipend, graduate assistantships include a tuition waiver and highly subsidized health insurance. All applicants are automatically considered for an assistantship by the program.

Cost of Study

The students receiving 50 percent or more assistantship are provided with full tuition waiver and highly subsidized health insurance coverage. Virtually all current full-time Ph.D. students receive full financial support in the form of graduate research assistantships. Other first-year student fees in 2008–09 totaled approximately $800 per semester.

Living and Housing Costs

In 2008–09, the graduate residence hall fee was $2894 per semester ($8700 per calendar year). Students living in a graduate residence hall may choose to subscribe to a meal plan at a University dining hall. Off-campus housing is available, and monthly rents start at approximately $600 per person. The cost of books, educational supplies, personals, and incidentals varies depending on the spending habits of the individual. A rough estimate is $2000.

Student Group

In spring 2009, the program had a total of 65 students; 60 students were Ph.D. candidates. The program has a diverse group of students from different parts of the United States, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and other neighboring New England states; Mississippi; New York; Ohio; Texas; Virginia; and Wisconsin. International students come from Brazil, Canada, China, India, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sudan, Taiwan, and Thailand. Currently, 32 percent are women.

Student Outcomes

Most of the program’s graduates have secured positions in industry, while others have gone on to successful academic careers at universities such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Iowa State University; SUNY at Stony Brook, Fredonia, and New Palz; and the Universities of Cincinnati, Connecticut (UConn), Hartford, Massachusetts Lowell, South Carolina, and Vermont. Some alumni work at national laboratories. Recent graduates have joined DuPont, Dow Corning, Boston Scientific, Bausch & Lomb, 3M, Dow Chemical, Ciba/Novartis, Intel, Tyco/U.S. Surgical, Saint-Gobain, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Henkel Surfaces, Rohm & Haas, P&G, Pfizer, NIST, and Sandia National Labs. Many alumni have become managers or directors of their departments.

Location

Located in a scenic rural area of eastern Connecticut, the main campus of the University is within easy driving distance of Boston, New Haven, and Hartford. Bus service to New York and Boston is available daily. The Connecticut and Rhode Island coasts are popular attractions for boating and beaches and the Vermont and New Hampshire mountains for hiking and skiing. Many student organizations offer weekend visits to New York City, Boston, and Montreal throughout the year. Also, many concerts by world-renowned musicians and numerous special events are held at the University’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.

The University

Founded in 1881, the University of Connecticut is the state’s flagship institution of higher learning. It includes ten schools and colleges at its main campus in Storrs, separate Schools of Law and Social Work in Hartford, five regional campuses throughout the state, and Schools of Medicine and Dentistry at the UConn Health Center in Farmington. The University spans 4,108 acres at its main campus and five regional campuses and an additional 205 acres at the UConn Health Center. UConn is a land-grant and sea-grant college and a space-grant consortium institution. It currently has about 25,000 students at the main campus and its five branches. U.S. News & World Report frequently ranks UConn the top public university in New England in its “America’s Best Colleges” issue. UConn is a school of choice for academically talented students from throughout the nation and around the world. The University of Connecticut is a research-intensive university, a prestigious designation shared by only the nation’s top higher education institutions. The Graduate School was established in 1939 and the first Ph.D. degrees were conferred in 1949.

Applying

Admission to the program requires a bachelor’s or master’s degree in science, engineering, or mathematics. The Polymer Program has a no-fee Admission Inquiry Form on the Web site at http://www.ims.uconn.edu/polymer/. Applicants must submit transcripts, two letters of recommendation, GRE scores from the General Test, and, for those students whose native language is not English, the TOEFL or IELTS scores. The minimum overall required TOEFL score is 550 for the paper-based, 213 for the computer-based, or 80 for the Internet-based test. The formal application form is available at http://www.grad.uconn.edu/applications.html. The fee is $55 for the online application and $75 for the paper application. Applications are considered on a rolling basis.

The Faculty and Their Research

• D. Adamson, Associate Professor of Chemistry; Ph.D., USC, 1991. Polymer synthesis, bio-inspired materials, self-assembly, nanofillers.
• A. Asandei, Associate Professor of Chemistry; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve, 1998. Polymer synthesis, liquid crystalline polymers, living radical polymerization (LRP), polycondensations, auxetic materials, self-assembly, nanostructures.
• P. Burkhard, Associate Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology; Ph.D., Basel (Switzerland), 1995. Nanobiotechnology; structure-based protein design; vaccines against malaria, HIV, and SARS; drug targeting and delivery.
• A. Dobrynin, Associate Professor of Physics; Ph.D., Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 1991. Protein-polyelectrolyte complexes, layer-by-layer assembly, nanomodeling, bacteria and cell motility.
• R. M. Kasi, Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Ph.D., Massachusetts Amherst, 2004. Polymer synthesis, single-site catalysis, block copolymers, polymers for nanomaterials and biomaterials.
• Y. Lin, Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Ph.D., Massachusetts Amherst, 2005. Regulable protein materials, bio-inspired materials, self-assembled structure from polymers and nanoparticles.
• F. Papadimitrakopoulos, Professor of Chemistry; Ph.D., Massachusetts Amherst, 1993. Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs); self-assembly; semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs); implantable electrochemical biosensors; microfluidic immunosorbent arrays.
• R. S. Parnas, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering; Ph.D., UCLA, 1990. Composites, in situ membrane diagnostics for fuel cells, interfacial measurements and structures, flow in porous media, biodiesel, new protein-based feedstock for the commodity plastics market.
• D. A. Scola, Research Professor; Ph.D., Connecticut, 1959. Synthesis and characterization of high-temperature polyimide/composites for fuel-cell, aerospace, medical, and electronic applications; microwave cure of monomers to polymers.
• T. A. P. Seery, Associate Professor of Chemistry; Ph.D., USC, 1991. Synthesis of well-defined polymer structures, light-scattering studies of strongly interacting polymers, polymer dynamics and macromolecular associations.
• M. T. Shaw, A. T. DiBenedetto Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering; Ph.D., Princeton, 1970. Polymer rheology and processing, phase behavior in polymer solutions and blends, aging of polymeric dielectrics, biomaterials.
• G. A. Sotzing, Professor of Chemistry; Ph.D., Florida, 1997. Polymer synthesis, heterocyclic synthesis, intrinsically conducting polymers, optically transparent conductive polymers, nanolithography, nanofibers, smart materials from conjugated polymers.
• C. S. P. Sung, Professor of Chemistry; Ph.D., Polytechnic of Brooklyn, 1972. Spectroscopic characterization of polymers and composites.
• R. A. Weiss, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering; Ph.D., Massachusetts Amherst, 1976. Polymer blends, proton exchange membranes for fuel cells, wetting, and shape memory polymers; hydrophobically modified hydrogels.

Correspondence and Information

University of Connecticut
YoungHee Chudy
Polymer Program, Institute of Materials Science
Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3136
Telephone: 860-486-3582
Fax: 860-486-4745
Email: polymer@ims.uconn.edu