Pinar Akcora

Assistant Professor

Faculty/Professor
Building: McLean 415
Phone: 201.216.5060
Fax: 201.216.8306
Email: pinar.akcora@stevens.edu

Education

  • Post-doc, Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, 2005-2008
  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 2000-2005
  • M.S., Chemical Engineering, Bogazici University, Istanbul, 1997 
  • B.S., Chemical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 1995

Research: 

Dr. Pinar Akcora conducts fundamental research in the development of nanotechnology-based polymers with various properties. The particle chains she is developing as part of her National Science Foundation CAREER Award have demonstrated three significant properties. They have multi-functional assembly, are conductive and therefore potentially magnetic, and they are mechanically strong. With this set of characteristics, the materials are resistant to wear, can be employed in rough conditions such as the coating on a car or airplane, and can be used in electrical membranes or sensors. Dr. Akcora is co-author of a paper that appeared in Nature Materials in which her research team studied the self-assembly properties of nanoparticles.

Dr. Akcora's research interests include synthesis and characterization of polymeric nanohybrids; ordered soft materials, mechanical and structural relationships of ordered-disordered systems, developing new strategies for the self-assembly of nanoparticles, self-healing membranes for robust mechanical applications, multifunctional polymer composites with electrical and mechanical properties, and bioengineered magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery applications. She is a member of the American Physical Society, American Chemical Society, Materials Research Society, and the New York Academy of Sciences. In addition to her CAREER Award, she is the recipient of the University of Missouri Research Board Award in 2009.

Research Projects Interests

Synthesis and characterization of polymeric nanohybrids; ordered soft materials; mechanical and structural relationships of ordered-disordered systems; developing new strategies for the self-assembly of nanoparticles; self-healing membranes for robust mechanical applications; multifunctional polymer composites with electrical and mechanical properties, bioengineered magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery applications.

Awards and Honors

  • NSF CAREER Award, DMR-Polymer division (2010 recipient)
  • Research Board Award, University of Missouri (2009)

Publications

  1. P. Akcora, S. K. Kumar, L. S. Schadler, V. G. Sakai, Y. Li, B. C. Benicewicz (2010) "Segmental dynamics in PMMA-grafted nanoparticle composites", Macromolecules, Vol. 43( 19), p. 8275.

  2. P. Akcora, S. K. Kumar, S. Lewis, L. S. Schadler, Y. Li, B. C. Benicewicz, S. Narayanan, P. Thiyagarajan, J. Ilavsky, R. H. Colby, J. F. Douglas (2010) "Gel-like mechanical reinforcement in polymer nanocomposites", Macromolecules, Vol. 43( 2), p. 1003.

  3. P. Akcora, H. Liu, S. K. Kumar, Y. Li, B. C. Benicewicz, Linda S. Schadler, D. Acehan, A. Panagiotopoulos, V. Pryamitsyn, V. Ganesan, J. Ilavsky, P. Thiyagarajan, R. H. Colby, J. F. Douglas (2009) "Anisotropic self-assembly of polymer-grafted nanoparticles", Nature Materials, Vol. 8( 4), p. 354.

  4. P. Akcora, R. M. Briber, P. Kofinas (2009) "Oxidation effect on templating of metal oxide nanoparticles within block copolymers", Polymer, Vol. 50( 5), p. 1223.

  5. P. Akcora, X. Zhang, B. Varughese, R. M. Briber, P. Kofinas (2005) "Characterization of polymer templated iron oxide nanoparticles within diblock copolymers by magnetic and neutron scattering experiments", Polymer, Vol. 46( 14), p. 5194.

Professional Organizations and Societies

  • American Physical Society
  • American Chemical Society
  • Materials Research Society 
  • New York Academy of Sciences