The Schroeder Group aims to understand how form and function arise in soft materials using single-molecule techniques combined with automated chemical synthesis. Research in the Schroeder Group is currently focused on three areas:
(1) Non-equilibrium dynamics of soft materials – Our group aims to understand how molecular-scale properties give rise to bulk stress and mechanical behavior in polymers, lipid vesicles, and colloidal suspensions. In one area, we study lipid vesicle dynamics and capillary suspension breakup in flow using the Stokes trap, which is a new method for automated flow control developed in our group. In a second area, we use single molecule techniques to study the non-equilibrium dynamics and rheology of entangled polymers and architecturally complex materials.
(2) Molecular electronics – Our group aims to understand how molecular composition and monomer sequence govern the charge transport properties of biological polymers, conjugated organic molecules, and redox-active materials. This work is essential for guiding the development of new energy capture and storage and applications. A key focus lies in understanding electron transport in biological materials such as peptides, proteins, and self-assembled protein nanowires.
(3) Closed-loop materials discovery & automated synthesis – Our work focuses on using closed-loop experimentation to discover new materials with enhanced functional properties, e.g. new electrochromic molecules or organic light-harvesting molecules with enhanced photostability. A key focus lies in using “Lego-like” synthesis of organic materials using a modular set of molecular building blocks, which greatly accelerates the rate of materials discovery across large chemical spaces.
Research Highlights
Closed-loop discovery of photostable light-harvesting molecules
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Open Macromolecular Genome (OMG): generative design of synthetically accessible polymers
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Nature, 2024
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ACS Polymers Au, 2023
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Prior Research
DNA data storage
Supramolecular assembly of proteins
Single molecule biophysics & fluorescent proteins
