Pioneering Changes in Fluid Behavior

Simon has been working with Dr. Wei and Prof. Kornfield since 2008, providing guidance on synthesis and scale-up of long end-associative polymers to meet the requirements of real-world applications. He received M. Chem. and D. Phil. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Oxford, U.K., after which he spent time at the University of Arizona and Georgia Tech as a Research Scientist, followed by senior management positions in start-up companies focused on the commercialization of technologies developed at Caltech and MIT.

Ming-Hsin ("Jeremy") expanded the envelope of accessible molecules and tested theoretical predictions regarding a previously unexplored class of polymers—long end-associative polymers. Fundamental scientific discoveries presented in his doctoral thesis, “Synthesis and Potency of Long End-Associative Polymers for Mist Control,” have opened the way to new technological applications.  After earning his B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University, Jeremy served as a Research Officer in the Taiwanese Army for 1.5 years and as an R&D Engineer developing formulations for polymer thin films for a year. Since completing his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2013 with Prof. Kornfield at Caltech, Jeremy has pushed for the commercialization of MegaSupramolecules by scaling-up the polymer synthesis, optimizing molecular designs, exploring new applications, participating in training for technological entrepreneurs, and gathering information from stake-holders in the space of fuels and lubricants. He is the recipient of the 2015 Chevron Research Award of Excellence in Honor of John Bacha of the International Association for Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuel (IASH).

Professor of Chemical Engineering at Caltech, Julie is an expert in polymer science, particularly the ways that polymers influence and are influenced by flow.  She is known for research on flow-induced crystallization of polymers (e.g., Science 2007) and the effects of flow on polymer self-assembly (e.g., Science  1997).  Since Julie joined the Caltech faculty in 1990, she has received the 2017 Bingham Medal of the Society of Rheology, the 1996 Dillon Medal of the American Physical Society, and been elected Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among other honors.  She holds 23 patents and is a co-founder of Calhoun Vision, which is using polymers developed at Caltech to customize patients’ vision by noninvasively optimizing a lens after it is implanted.  She hopes that this fundamental research on MegaSupramolecules will open the way to technologies that improve fuel safety, facilitate flow through pipelines and reduce engine emissions.