Advisors

Professor Robert Cohen

Bob is the St Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. He directs the Program for Polymer Science and Technology and the Dupont-MIT Alliance. Bob is one of the leading thinkers in the field of surfaces, self-assembly phenomenon, polymer physics and structure property relationships and was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions in these fields. His contributions to the field of layer-by-layer self assembly, often performed with his close collaborator Prof Michael Rubner, has spanned extreme wetting phenomenon such as super-hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity/oleophobicity, high performance optical films and biomaterials.

Professor Michael J Rubner

Michael is the TDK Professor of Polymer Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He directs the NSF Center for Materials Science and Engineering. Michaels research focuses on understanding layer-by-layer self assembly fundamentals while applying them to real world applications in optics, organic electronic and biomimicry.

Professor Paula T Hammond

Paula is the Bayer Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. Her research involves the study and development of new materials and processes, based on molecular design and self-assembly. Paula’s work in the layer-by-layer assembly field has impacted performance in energy storage, drug delivery, electrochromics and membranes.

J Wallace Parce, PhD

Wally has spent over thirty years innovating and commercializing new life sciences and materials technologies. As co-founder and head of research and development efforts at Molecular Devices, Caliper Life Sciences and Nanosys, he has brought technical rigor to company building. Having started these companies and raised hundreds of millions of dollars in the private and public markets, Wally brings strong scientific and product development credentials to Svaya. Wally received his B.A. in chemistry from Western Maryland College and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Wake Forest University.

Dr. Shiv Chiruvolu

Shiv has more than 14 years of experience in advanced technology development including lead roles in semiconductor materials processing, nanomaterials synthesis, and the development of composites and nanomaterials based product applications. He was most recently the CTO of Nanogram, a nanomaterials company. He also held senior leadership positions at NeoPhotonics and Applied Materials. He obtained his M.S. from IIT Mumbai and a B.S. from NIT Warangal, both in Chemical Engineering and has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara specializing in micro- and nano-structured materials, self-assembled systems and biomaterials.

Dr. Thad Druffel

Thad is a veteran of the optical industry and is currently the team leader on solar energy research at the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research at the University of Louisville. Previously he was the VP of R&D at Optical Dynamics Nanotechnology, an OEM for ophthalmic lens and thin film production. Thad holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon, an MS in mechanical engineering from Colorado State and a PhD in chemical engineering at University of Louisville.