Murugappan Muthukumar
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Degree Information:
B.S. Chemistry, University of Madras, 1972
Ph.D. Chemical Physics, The University of Chicago, 1979
Mailing Address:
Department of Polymer Science and Engineering
Room A212, Conte Research Center
University of Massachusetts Amherst
120 Governors Drive
Amherst, MA 01003
Phone:
413-577-1212
Email:
muthu@polysci.umass.edu
Fax:
413-545-0082
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Research Interests:
Polymer Crystallization. Polyelectrolyte Physics. Translocation of DNA and proteins through protein channels and nanopores.
Current Research:
1. Polymer Crystallization: Molecular origins of the spontaneous selection of morphology are being pursued using a combination of Langevin dynamics simulations and exactly solvable statistical mechanics models. Other related issues being investigated are growth kinetics, effect of externally imposed flow fields on the onset of shish-kebab morphology, role of liquid-crystalline phases in polymer crystallization, and the origin of gigantic chirality in crystals of achiral molecules. 2. Polyelectrolyte Physics: Solutions of polyelectrolytes are Coulomb soups of charged strings and are ubiquitous in biological and synthetic systems. The coupling among long-ranged correlations, arising from electrostatic interactions and polymer-connectivity, results in many complex phenomena unknown in uncharged polymeric systems. Theoretical methods, simulations (Monte Carlo and Brownian Dynamics), and experiments (static and dynamic light scattering, SAXS, WAXS, SANS, NMR, conductometry) are used to investigate various fundamental issues. 3. Translocation of Polymers: How DNA/RNA worms through protein channels and nuclear pores is a fundamental process in life. When a polymer is forced to translocate through a narrow path, its configurational entropy is reduced, resulting in a free energy barrier. This free energy barrier is additionally modulated by potential interactions between the polymer and the pore. We use experiments, polymer theory, Molecular Dynamics, and Brownian Dynamics to understand the molecular mechanisms of DNA/RNA transport in terms of polymer length and sequence specificity.
Honors and Distinctions:
- Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (1983-85)
- Dillon Medal, American Physical Society (1986)
- Fellow of American Physical Society (1987)
- Maurice L. Huggins Memorial Award, Gordon Research Conferences (1988)
- Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, Chancellor's Medal, UMass (1997)
- Ford High Polymer Physics Prize, American Physical Society (1998)
- Miller Visiting Professor, University of California, Berkeley (1999)
- Fifteen times Best Teacher Award, Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts (1984-2003)
- Adjunct Associate Editor for Physical Review Letters (1999-present)
