Engineering Soft Materials for Sustainable Solutions

Overview

The Soft Matter Lab at Rowan University’s Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering develops advanced polymeric materials to tackle pressing challenges in sustainable water and energy systems. We integrate polymer chemistry, environmental engineering, and materials science to create functional gels and membranes that can sense, adapt, and perform under dynamic conditions.

Our research currently centers on four synergistic areas:
• Solar absorber gels for solar-driven water purification and environmental remediation
• Ion-selective polymer membranes for efficient recovery of critical minerals from brines and wastewater
• Eutectogels for next-generation supercapacitors and batteries
• Stimulus-responsive hydrogel actuators for soft robotic systems

By uncovering and exploiting the structure–property–function relationships of soft materials, our group aims to build fundamental-to-application pathways that translate polymer design into scalable, sustainable technologies for a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient future.