Pinar Akcora

• PhD (2005) University of Maryland-College Park (Chemical Engineering)

Synthesis and characterization of polymeric nanohybrids; self-assembly of polymer-grafted nanoparticles; mechanical and structural relationships of ordered-disordered systems; developing new strategies for the self-assembly of nanoparticles; polymer-grafted nanoparticles in ionic liquids for energy applications; mechanically adaptive composite membranes for large shear and high temperature applications; multifunctional polymer composites for enhanced conductivity and reinforcement; protein-polymer functionalized surfaces for bioapplications.

• CEMS Undergraduate Ambassador Member
• Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Chair
• Nanotechnology Program Chair
• Institute Curriculum Committee (ICC) Member
• Academic Planning and Resources Committee (APAR) Member
• Stevens 150th Anniversary Academic Symposium Committee Member

• Journal of Polymer Science, Editorial Advisory Board Member Editorial Advisory Board Member
• APS Task Force / Poster Sessions Committee
• American Physical Society (APS) - Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY) 2021 March Meeting Program Chair

Associate Prof. - Stevens Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science (2016-)
Assistant Prof. - Stevens Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science (Aug 2010-March 2016)
Assistant Prof. - U Missouri-Columbia, Chemical Engineering (Nov 2008- Aug 2010)

NSF CAREER Award, DMR-Polymers (2010 recipient)
Stevens Institute of Technology Research Recognition Award, October 2010
Research Board Award, University of Missouri (2009)

• APS – American Physical Society Member
• ACS – American Chemical Society Member
• AICHE – American Institute of Chemical Engineers Member
• NSSA – Neutron Scattering Society of the America Member
• MRS – Materials Research Society Member

NSF DMR-Polymers, "Directed Ionic Transport in Poly(Ionic Liquid)-Grafted Nanoparticles in Polarizable Media" (2021), PI. Amount: $424,000.
NSF REU/RET Site grant on “Interdisciplinary Research Experience in Sustainable Energy and Bioengineering” (2021), PI. Amount: $375,000.
NSF-CMMI, Supplemental Grant, Machine Learning for Polymer Nanocomposites using Force-Field Agnostic Molecular Dynamics Descriptors (2020), PI
NSF DMR-Polymers, Ionic Transport in Ion Containing Copolymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Structures (2018), PI
NSF-CMMI-MEP, Collaborative Research: Chemical and Dynamic Heterogeneities in Interfaces for Adaptive Polymer Nanocomposites (2018), PI
NSF-CMMI-MEP, Unusual Temperature Dependent Behavior of Polymer Nanocomposites (2015), PI
ACS PRF New Directions Grant, Flow-induced Organization of Bimodal-Sized Particles in Drying Polymer Droplets (2014), PI
NSF MRI: Acquisition of a High- Pressure Freezing System for Cryo-Electron Microscopy (2014), co-PI
NSF DMR-Polymers, CAREER: Multi-functional Particle Assemblies in Polymer Nanocomposites (2010)
Stevens-CHI Healthcare Scholars (2016), PI
Stevens Ignition Grant Initiative, Designing Reversibly Stiffening Multifunctional Polymer Hybrids (2017), PI
University of Missouri (MU) Research Board Grant (2009), PI

US2010/0303874 A1, Publication date: Dec. 2, 2010

1. Liu, S.; Akcora, P.; Tyagi, M. (2020). Polymer-Coupled Local Dynamics Enhances Conductivity of Ionic Liquids. Macromolecules (15 ed., vol. 53, pp. 6538-6546).
2. Liu, S.; Walton, M.; Tarakina, N. V.; Akcora, P. (2020). Solvation in Ionic Liquids with Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles. Journal of Physical Chemistry B (23 ed., vol. 124, pp. 4843-4850). ACS.
3. Zhang, C.; Padmanabhan, V.; Akcora, P. (2019). Solution Rheology of Poly(acrylic acid)-Grafted Silica Nanoparticles. Macromolecules (24 ed., vol. 52, pp. 9594-9603). ACS.
4. Yang, S.; Akcora, P. (2019). Deformation of Chemically Heterogeneous Interfacial Layers of Polymer Nanocomposites. ACS Macro Letters (12 ed., vol. 8, pp. 1635-1641). ACS.
5. Peng, W.; Ranganathan, R.; Keblinski, P.; Akcora, P.; Ozisik, R. (2019). Viscoelastic and Dynamic Properties of Polymer Grafted Nanocomposites with High Glass Transition Temperature Graft Chains. Journal of Applied Physics (19 ed., vol. 126, pp. Article number 195102). AIP Publishing.
6. Liu, S.; Liedel, C.; Tarakina, N. V.; Osti, N. C.; Akcora, P. (2019). Dynamics of Ionic Liquids in the Presence of Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles. Nanoscale (42 ed., vol. 11, pp. 19832-19841). Royal Society of Chemistry.
7. Yang, S.; Hassan, M.; Akcora, P. (2019). Role of adsorbed chain rigidity in reinforcement of polymer nanocomposites. Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics (1 ed., vol. 57, pp. 9-14). Hoboken.
8. Wu, D.; Ozisik, R.; Akcora, P.. Local Viscosity of Interfacial Layers in Polymer Nanocomposites Measured by Magnetic Heating . ACS Applied Polymer Materials (12 ed., vol. 2, pp. 5542-5549).

CHE 332 Separation Operations
CHE 560 Fundamentals of Polymer Science
NANO 525 Techniques of Surface and Nanostructure Characterization