Polymers

The Polymers program supports foundational research and education on polymeric materials and polymer science. The program portfolio is mainly experimental and broad, including components of materials science, chemistry/chemical engineering, physics, and other related disciplines. While interdisciplinarity is stressed, a central goal includes developing and advancing the foundations of polymer science across the wide horizon of the polymer field through innovative research and education projects.  Polymers are studied from the molecular level through the nano-to-macroscale using fundamental materials-focused scientific approaches. Such approaches are experimental but may also partly integrate theoretical, modeling, machine learning and other computational aspects.

Broad areas covered by the program include but are not limited to:

• Polymer design

• Synthesis and assembly

• Characterization

• Phase behavior

• Structure

• Morphology

• Properties of underlying polymer materials 

Particular focus is on foundational approaches to innovative materials with superior properties, advancing polymer fundamentals and revealing structure-property relationships, as well as basic polymer research relevant to major societal challenges.

Proposals may involve:

• Studies motivated by the role of polymers in quantum science

• Biotechnology

• Materials AI/data

• Advanced manufacturing

• Microelectronics/semiconductors

High-quality proposals that integrate research, education and other broader impacts are invited. 

Projects focused largely on processing, engineering, devices, or applications of polymers are generally more suitable for programs in the NSF Engineering Directorate.