Ramaswamy Nagarajan | University of Massachasetts Lowell | USA
Dr. Nagarajan’s research is in the area of greener routes to the synthesis and processing of polymeric materials. Dr. Nagarajan has developed ‘benign’ enzymatic/biomimetic routes for synthesizing electrically conducting & photoresponsive polymers. Dr. Nagarajan also has extensive experience in molecularly integrated hybrid nanomaterials and in incorporating electro-active/ photo-responsive polymers into bio-based materials (such as DNA, enzymes/proteins) to create novel responsive hybrid materials. More recently he has also investigated the enzymatic modification of ‘Green tea catechins’ for the design of novel therapeutic materials (anticancer applications). Dr. Nagarajan’s industrial experience includes design and development of detection systems for explosives at Advanced Surface Technology Products Inc. and his more recent role as innovations scientist at FLEXcon Inc., specializing in the areas of coatings and roll-to-roll manufacture of flexible electronic products. Dr. Nagarajan’s teaching interests include polymers from renewable resources [a new course ‘26.596: Plastics, elastomers and additives from renewable resource’ introduced in 2007], rubber technology, thermal and morphological characterization of materials. Dr. Nagarajan’s combination of experience in science and engineering will be useful in advancing the plastics engineering department’s research and educational efforts in the area of renewable plastics and elastomeric materials.
