Paul Podsiadlo has always enjoyed doing research and believes our department has been the right place to help him fulfill his life-long desire for discovery. A member of Professor Nicholas Kotov’s nanotechnology research group, he recently defended his PhD thesis. His interests are in nanoengineering and nanocomposites. As he explains, “nanomaterials possess fascinating optical, electronic, and mechanical properties, however, transferring these properties to the macro scale is challenging.” Paul has studied the development of novel nanocomposites using a self-assembly method called layer-by-layer assembly. This interdisciplinary research required collaboration with experts in materials engineering and mechanics, and as he explains, “with its top engineering college, Michigan is the perfect place for such research.”

Paul’s research led to the development of a transparent plastic that is as strong as steel but much lighter. This work was selected as one of the top 10 discoveries of 2007 by Wired magazine. Paul’s work has earned him numerous prizes and recognitions, including the prestigious Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship, the first place poster prize from AIChE, the 2007 Ivor K. McIvor award for research in applied mechanics, and the 2007-08 Robert M. Caddell Memorial award.

Paul, born in Poland, immigrated to the United States 12 years ago, and received his undergraduate degree from our department in 2002. After a brief stay at the University of Wisconsin, he returned to Michigan and began work on his PhD in January 2004. He will join Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago as a Willard Frank Libby Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Nanoscale Materials, where he will continue his research in nanotechnology.