Nancy R. Sottos

About

Nancy R. Sottos holds the Maybelle Leland Swanlund Endowed Chair and is the Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is the leader of the Autonomous Materials Systems (AMS) group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the director of the EFRC on Regenerative Energy Efficient Manufacturing of Thermoset Polymeric Materials (REMAT), and the director of the University of Illinois spoke of the BP International Center for Advanced Materials (ICAM). Sottos is also a co-founder of the start-up companies Autonomous Materials Inc. (AMI) and RapiCure Solutions. Her research group develops polymers and composites capable of self-healing and regeneration, self-reporting, and self-protection to improve reliability and extend material lifetime. Her current research interests focus on circular additive and morphogenic manufacturing strategies for polymeric and composite materials with programmed end of life. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a Fellow of the Society for Experimental Mechanics, the Society for Engineering Science, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Sottos has received numerous awards, including the Nadai Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Engineering Science Medal.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Polymer chemistry
• Composite material
• Chemical engineering

Selected publications

• Frontal Polymerizations: From Chemical Perspectives to Macroscopic Properties and Applications

  Chemical Reviews · 2023 · 204 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The synthesis and processing of most thermoplastics and thermoset polymeric materials rely on energy-inefficient and environmentally burdensome manufacturing methods. Frontal polymerization is an attractive, scalable alternative due to its exploitation of polymerization heat that is generally wasted and unutilized. The only external energy needed for frontal polymerization is an initial thermal (or photo) stimulus that locally ignites the reaction. The subsequent reaction exothermicity provides…

  DOI

• Fast, reversible mechanochromism of regioisomeric oxazine mechanophores: Developing in situ responsive force probes for polymeric materials

  Chem · 2021 · 147 citations

  DOI

• Covalent Mechanochemistry and Contemporary Polymer Network Chemistry: A Marriage in the Making

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2023 · 109 citations

  Over the past 20 years, the field of polymer mechanochemistry has amassed a toolbox of mechanophores that translate mechanical energy into a variety of functional responses ranging from color change to small-molecule release. These productive chemical changes typically occur at the length scale of a few covalent bonds (Å) but require large energy inputs and strains on the micro-to-macro scale in order to achieve even low levels of mechanophore activation. The minimal activation hinders the trans…

  DOI

• Efficient Manufacture, Deconstruction, and Upcycling of High-Performance Thermosets and Composites

  ACS Applied Engineering Materials · 2022 · 49 citations

  Thermoset polymers and fiber-reinforced polymer composites possess the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties necessary for energy-efficient vehicles and structures, but their energy-inefficient manufacturing and the lack of end-of-life management strategies render these materials unsustainable. Here, we demonstrate end-of-life deconstruction and upcycling of high-performance poly(dicyclopentadiene) (pDCPD) thermosets with a concurrent reduction in the energy demand for curing via frontal…

  DOI

• Controlled patterning of crystalline domains by frontal polymerization

  Nature · 2024-09-18 · 35 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• GOALI: Dynamic Adhesive Failure of Patterned Thin Films

  NSF · $334k · 2007–2011

• LEAP HI: Manufacturing USA: Energy Efficient Processing of Thermoset Polymers and Composites

  NSF · $639k · 2018–2020

• Molecular Tailoring of Interfacial Fracture

  NSF · $341k · 2012–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Scott R. White

  278 shared

• Jeffrey S. Moore

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  193 shared

• Philippe H. Geubelle

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  84 shared

• Ben Blaiszik

  Argonne National Laboratory

  34 shared

• Justine E. Paul

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  27 shared

• Jacob J. Lessard

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  24 shared

• Yuan Gao

  23 shared

• Susan A. Odom

  University of Kentucky

  22 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1999

• M.S., Materials Science and Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1994

• B.S., Materials Science and Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1992

Awards & honors

• Society for Experimental Mechanics Fellow
• Society for Engineering Science Fellow
• American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow
• Nadai Medal (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
• Society of Engineering Science Medal

Similar researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• David Cahillh-98
• Ken Schweizerh-77
• Chris Andersonh-76