Nusrat Chowdhury and David G. Cahill
Grainger Breakthrough Initiative

We are studying the relationships between molecular structure, microstructure, and thermal conductivity in polymers with the goal of understanding the routes and limits to producing thermal conductivity > 1 W/(m-K) in polymers that are easy to synthesize, process, and fabricate into desired shapes. Our current focus is on liquid crystalline order in polyimides and mechanical deformation of semicrystalline polymers.