My interests are in nanostructured polymer and polymer-derived materials, their analysis and application, as well as the chemical reactions that allow for the formation of such materials.

One specific area of work is on polymer nanocomposites, where the structure and properties are intimately related to the chemistry of the polymer and the nanofiller compatibilizer. Nanoclays have been being investigated as environmentally benign alternatives to toxic heat stabilizers in wire and cable applications, with additional work focused on improving the properties of medical plastics; separate, more fundamental studies of the mechanical and barrier properties of high nanofiller content films are also in progress.

A second specific area of work is on organic sol-gel chemistry. In this area we produce hydrogel-based delivery systems and tissue engineering scaffolds, and have applied replica molding of natural porous bodies (bone, sponge, etc.) to the latter to set the structure and independently altering the properties through choice of pre-polymer.

My teaching interests include polymer science, polymer synthesis and network formation, as well as materials analysis and polymeric nanomaterials.

Research Topics

Polymer / layered silicate nanocomposites
Examples include flexible PVC nanocomposites for a range of practical applications, model amorphous nanocomposites to better understand the nature of mechanical reinforcement, and high nanofiller content nanocomposites with novel mechanical and barrier properties.

Sol-gel derived materials (porous and non-porous)
Examples include tissue engineering scaffolds, hydrogel-based delivery systems, and porous shape memory thermosets.

I am also interested in new polymer and hybrid synthesis (primarily networks) via step-growth / polycondensation reactions, as well as preceramic polymers and materials analysis.
 

Important note for those interested in positions in my group:

Thanks for your interest! Please send me, via e-mail if possible, your CV as well as a brief cover letter that explicitly includes what subject area(s) you're most interested in.
 

If you are already on-campus and would like to meet:

I am happy to do so, so long as the subject of our discussions is not whether I have a funded position for you. I will indicate my funding situation before our meeting, and make any hiring decisions only after I have met with all interested parties, based on the availability of funds and the degree to which the applicants match the needs of the relevant project(s).

Current Course Offerings (Fall 2008)

26.381 Polymer Science for Engineers I

26.383 Polymer Science Laboratory I

Previous Course Offerings

26.384 Polymer Science Laboratory II

24.405 Polymer Science Laboratory

26.480 Introduction to Polymer Science

26.512 Porous Polymers

26.526 Nanoscale Plastics Processing (co-taught with Prof. C. Barry)

22.570 / 26.589 Polymer Nanocomposites (co-taught with Prof. E. Reynaud)

Service

Associate Editor, Journal of Macromolecular Science A

Plastics Engineering Representative, U. Mass. Lowell Faculty Senate

Plastics Engineering Representative, College Computing Committee

Faculty Advisor, U. Mass. Lowell. SAMPE Student Chapter

Member, Chemistry / Materials Subcommittee, Plastics Engineering

Affiliate, Nanomanufacturing Center of Excellence

Affiliate, Center of High-Rate Nanomanufacturing

Awards

2004, BASF-ISIS Award for outstanding research achievements

Recent Publications

1. C. C. Egger, C. du Fresne, D. Schmidt, J. Yang, V. Schädler, "Design of highly porous melamine-based networks through a bicontinuous microemulsion templating strategy," Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology, in press (2008).

2. E. J. Rogers, S. F. Hsieh, N. Organti, D. Schmidt, D. Bello, "A high throughput in vitro analytical approach to screen for oxidative stress potential exerted by nanomaterials using a biologically relevant matrix: Human blood serum," Toxicology in Vitro, 22, 1639-1647 (2008).

3. D. Schmidt, C. du Fresne, A. Weiss, V. Schädler, "Colloidal Gelation as a General Approach to the Production of Porous Materials," Chemistry of Materials, 20, 2851-2853 (2008).

4. D. Schmidt, V. I. Raman, C. Egger, C. du Fresne, V. Schaedler, "Templated cross linking reactions for designing nanoporous materials", Materials Science and Engineering C: Biomimetic and Supramolecular Systems, 27, 1487-1490 (2007).

5. P. Borgaonkar, S. Sharma, M. Chen, S. Bhowmick, D. F. Schmidt, "Organic sol-gel chemistry as a flexible synthetic route to tissue engineering scaffolds", Polymer Preprints, 48, 904-906 (2007).

6. E. Reynaud, D. F. Schmidt, V. Appaji, H. Patel, "Relating mechanical behavior to polyamide/clay nanocomposites morphology", PMSE Preprints, 97, 670 (2007).

7. C. Barry, J. Chen, J. Mead, D. Schmidt, "Multiscale Processing of Polymers and Nanocomposites," in Materials Processing Handbook, Groza, J. R., Shackelford, J. F., Lavernia, E. J., Powers, M. T., Eds., CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 30-1, 2007.

8. P. Borgaonkar, S. Sharma, M. Chen, S. Bhowmick and D. F. Schmidt, "A Flexible Approach to the Preparation of Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering", Macromolecular Bioscience, 7, 201-207 (2007).

9. N. Francis, D. F. Schmidt, "PVC/layered silicate nanocomposites: preparation, characterization, and properties", SPE ANTEC, 65, 1238-1242 (2007).

10. P. Borgaonkar, S. Sharma, D. F. Schmidt, M. Chen, S. Bhowmick, "Preparation and characterization of polyester thermoset xerogels for tissue engineering scaffolds", SPE ANTEC, 65, 806-811 (2007).

11. D. Schmidt, J. Mead, C. Barry, J. Chen, "Nanomanufacturing with Polymers", in Handbook of Plastics Technologies, 2nd ed., Harper, C. A., Ed., McGraw-Hill: New York, NY, 6.1, 2006.

12. D. F. Schmidt, F. Clément and E. P. Giannelis, "On the Origins of Silicate Dispersion in Polysiloxane / Layered Silicate Nanocomposites", Advanced Functional Materials, 16, 417-425 (2006).

13. D. Shah, P. Maiti, E. Gunn, D. F. Schmidt, D. D. Jiang, C. A. Batt, and E. P. Giannelis, "Dramatic Enhancements in Toughness of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanocomposites via Nanoclay-Directed Crystal Structure and Morphology", Advanced Materials, 16, 1173-1177 (2004).

14. H. Chen, D. F. Schmidt, M. Pitsikalis, N. Hadjichristidis, Y. Zhang, U. Wiesner and E. P. Giannelis, "Poly(styrene-block-isoprene) Nanocomposutes: Kinetics of Intercalation and Effects of Copolymer on Intercalation Behaviors", Journal of Polymer Science B, 41, 3264-3271 (2003).

15. V. Vohra, D. F. Schmidt, C. K. Ober, and E. P. Giannelis, "Deintercalation of a Chemically Switchable Polymer from a Layered Silicate Nanocomposites", Journal of Polymer Science B, 41, 3151-3159 (2003).

16. D. Schmidt, D. Shah, and E. P. Giannelis, "New Advances in Polymer / Layered Silicate Nanocomposites", Current Opinions in Solid State and Materials Science, 6, 205-212 (2002).

17. D. Schmidt, G. Qian, and E. P. Giannelis, "Nanocomposites from Novel Synthetic Organo-Layer Silicates" PMSE Preprints, 82, 215-216 (2000).

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