Phil grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and received his bachelor's degree in physics from Emory University in 2013, where he investigated the physical aging of nano-confined polymer glasses in the presence of interfaces. He then spent several years as a software consultant in the Cloud Services group at IBM. He joined the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering as a graduate student in 2016 and is now a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, co-advised by Professors Stuart Rowan and Juan de Pablo.
The physics of interlocking polymers. Complex polymer architectures such as polycatenanes and polyrotaxanes contain "mechanical" or "topological" bonds, which give rise to unique and unusual dynamics, and can be exploited to create new materials with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties. Using theory and simulation, I study the properties of these systems with the goal of designing new materials and guiding synthetic efforts.
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of interfaces. Many important chemical and biological processes are strongly influenced by transport along and across surfaces, but non-equilibrium thermodynamics at interfaces are far more subtle than in the bulk. To develop thermodynamically consistent descriptions of interfacial transport, I study the non-equilibrium dynamics of multiphase, multicomponent systems using theory and simulation.
Jerald E. Hertzog, Vincent J. Maddi,Laura F. Hart, Benjamin W. Rawe, Phillip M. Rauscher, Katie M. Herbert, Eric P. Bruckner, c Juan J. de Pablo and Stuart J. Rowan. Chem. Sci. (2022), 13, 5333-5344
Rauscher, P. M., Schweizer, K. S., Rowan, S. J. & De Pablo, J. J. Thermodynamics and Structure of Poly[n]catenane Melts. Macromolecules 53, 3390–3408 (2020).
Qiong Wu, Phillip M. Rauscher, Xiaolong Lang, Rudy J. Wojtecki, Juan J. de Pablo, Michael J. A. Hore, Stuart J. Rowan. Poly[n]catenanes: Synthesis of molecular interlocked chains. Science. 2017. Vol. 30 Nov.
