Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Polymer Faculty Member is latest newcomer to MSE

 

Michael Kessler joins MSE from the University of Tulsa, where he taught and conducted research since earning his PhD in theoretical and applied mechanics from the University of Illinois in 2002. The native South Dakotan specializes in the characterization and processing of polymers and polymer matrix composites. Only three years out from the PhD, he is already listed on three patents, has published seven articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has attracted nearly $1 million in external funding.   Much of Kessler’s current work draws on his PhD research in self-healing composites, in which liquid monomer healing agents are incorporated into a polymer matrix. Funded in part by a three-year Young Investigator Award from the Army Research Office, the research may one day result in much lighter and stronger armoring for weapons systems and vehicles, as well as civilian applications.   Besides his work in the fundamentals of polymerization, Kessler’s other projects include research in resin transfer molding, a process in which a monomer resin is pumped into a fiber-reinforced mold containing a catalyst so that polymerization occurs inside the mold.

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