Gido Research Group

Morphology of self-assembling materials of controlled molecular architecture including; Block Copolymers, biopolymers, liquid crystalline polymers, and semicrystalline polymers; Electron microscopy, X-ray and neutron scattering.

My research is focused on understanding how controlled polymer molecular architecture can be used to guide the self assembly and processing behavior of materials in order to create novel and useful structures on a morphological length scale (nanometers to microns). Materials of interest are those in which either nature or the synthetic polymer chemist exercises precise control over molecular weight, monomer sequence, sterioregularity, chain branching, etc Part of my research effort is focused on the study of proteins and synthetic polypeptides with highly repetitive amino acid sequences that form unusual crystalline and liquid crystalline structures. Other classes of materials with well defined molecular architecture that we are investigating are block and graft copolymers, polymer liquid crystals, and model semicrystalline materials. I have a particular interest in defect structures in self assembling materials such as grains and grain boundaries, dislocations and disclinations. These defect structures have important influences on materials properties and their minimization is important in recent research on the synthesis of self assembling nanostructures. As a polymer morphologist, I rely heavily on electron microscopy and scattering techniques to determine aspects of materials structure that are then related back to the molecular architectures and the self assembly processes.

University of Massachusetts

• The Mettler Toledo Thermal Analysis Award in Honor of Prof. Edith A. Turi. Shared with E. B. Coughlin, 2002
• The OMNOVA Solutions Foundation, OMNOVA Solutions Signature University Award for Research, 2000
• NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, 1996
• Army Young Investigator Award, 1995
• W. M. Keck Foundation Award, 1994

Graduate School

• Materials Research Society (MRS) Graduate Student Award Winner, 1991
• Sigma Xi, National Scientific Research Honor Society, 1990
• Austin Endowed Fellowship, sponsored by Dow Chemical, 1988

Undergraduate

• Tau Beta Pi national engineering honor society (Princeton Univ. Chapter), 1986
• Gilbert Solar Scholarship of the American Society for Metals, 1984
• Carl J. Long Science Award & Scholarship of the Pennsylvania Air Force Association, 1984