Welcome to the Mahanthappa Research Group

Mahanthappa Group (six people) standing on a balcony
Mahanthappa Group March 2022
Back row (left to right): Gil Youm, Parth Bhide, Zach Bauer, Mason Kozody, Ke Jin, Camila Perales Rodriguez
Front Row (left to right): Mahesh Mahanthappa (PI), Zach Gdowski, Giselle Campos, Emily Ness

 

Photo Credit: Dr. Jonathan Coote (Bates & Ellison Groups)

Who We Are: 

   Our interdisciplinary research group in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (CEMS) and Chemistry at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities focuses on the development of block copolymer and liquid crystal materials.

   Our research approach relies on a powerful combination of chemical synthesis, morphological characterization, and physical properties assessments to develop useful materials for a variety of applications. Situated at the interface of chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science, our interdisciplinary research program engages students and postdocs with diverse backgrounds in highly collaborative research.

Research Mission Statement:     

     To scalably produce useful polymer and liquid crystals with precise control over molecular architecture and functional group placement, in order to gain molecular–level insights into their structure–property relationships for potentially innovative applications.
 

Our Team:     

     With the broader context of the Minnesota Polymer Group and the University of Minnesota MRSEC, our team welcomes researchers from a variety of backgrounds spanning the traditional disciplines of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Materials Science and beyond. Without our combined domain knowledge and the unique perspectives of our each of team members, which derive from our individual backgrounds and lived experiences, our highly collaborative work would not be possible. 

Group News Highlights:

  • 9/24/2025: Congratulations to recent graduate Zach Gdowski on the publication of his paper on Polymer Upcycling by Catalytic Hydrogenolysis: The Role of Polyolefin Short-Chain Branching in ACS Catalysis!
  • 7/28/2025: Congratulations to recent Ph.D. Graduate Zach Gdowski on the successful defense of his Ph.D. thesis
  • 6/13/2025: Congratulations to 3rd year grad student Giselle Campos for receiving an Honorable Mention for her research presentation on "Expanding The Network Phase Library With Gemini Surfactants" at the 4th Annual UMN Chemistry Graduate Student Research Symposium. Excellent work!
  • 5/15/2025: Congratulations to Dr. Emily M. Ness on the successful defense of her Ph.D. thesis!
  • 3/13/2025: Congratulations to grad students Emily Ness and Mason Kozody on the publication of their paper Effect of Grafting Density on Self-Assembled Lamellar Phases of Core-Shell Bottlebrushes in Macromolecules.
  • 11/10/2024: Welcome to new 1st year grad student group members Christina Lee, Martin Kim, and Anurag Valiveti. Looking forward to all of your future successes.
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