Home >> Research Overview >> Research by Faculty Member
Christopher N. Bowman

Associate Dean for Research, Patten Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Clinical Professor of Restorative Dentistry and Co-Director of the NSF I/UCRC for Fundamentals and Applications and Photopolymerizations

ECCH 108

(303) 492-3247
christopher.bowman@colorado.edu

Education:

B.S., Purdue University (1988)
Ph.D., Purdue University (1991)

Awards:

• Residence Academic Life Teaching Award, Committee on Learning and Academic Support Services, University of Colorado, 2008

• American Chemical Society, Division of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Cooperative Research Award, 2007

• American Institute of Chemical Engineers R.H. Wilhem Award, 2006

• University of Colorado Faculty Fellowship, 2005-06

• Clemson University Award for Contributions to the Literature, 2005
• College of Engineering Max S. Peters Outstanding Service Award, 2004
• University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office Physical Sciences Inventor of the Year, 2003
• College of Engineering, John and Mercedes Peebles Teaching Innovation Award, 2002
• Boulder, Faculty Assembly Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Work, 2002
• Department of Chemical Engineering Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2002
• AIChE Allan P. Colburn Award (2001)
• American Society of Engineering Education Curtis W. McGraw Award (2000)
• Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (1998)
• Materials Research Society Outstanding Young Investigator Award (1997)
• Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1996)

Selected Publications:

 Y.W. Yi, J.E. Maclennan, N.A. Clark, V. Khire, and C.N. Bowman, “Organization of Liquid Crystals on Sub-micron Scale Topographic Patterns with Four-fold Symmetry prepared by Thiol-ene Photopolymerization-based Nanoimprint Lithography,” J. Appl. Physics, 103, 093518-1-093518-6 (2008). (Article also selected to appear in the May 19, 2008 issue of the Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology.)

T. Scott, C. Kloxin, R. Draughon, and C.N. Bowman, “Non-Classical Dependence of Polymerization Rate on Initiation Rate Observed in Thiol-Ene Photopolymerizations,” Macromolecules, 41, 2987-2989 (2008).

H. Kilambi, J. Stansbury, and C.N. Bowman, “Enhanced Reactivity of Monovinyl Acrylates Characterized by Secondary Functionalities Towards Photopolymerization and Michael Addition: Contribution of Intramolecular Effects,” J. Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 46, 3452-3458 (2008).

W.D. Cook, S. Chausson, F. Chen, L.L. Pluart, C.N. Bowman, and T.F. Scott, “Photo-polymerization Kinetics, Photo-rheology and Photo-plasticity of Thiol-ene-allylic Sulfide Networks,” Polymer International, 57, 469-478 (2008).

 H.M. Simms, C.N. Bowman, and K.S. Anseth, “Using Living Radical Polymerization to Enable Facile Incorporation of Materials in Microfluidic Cell Culture Devices,” Biomaterials, 29, 2228-2236 (2008).

 J.W. Stansbury, C.N. Bowman, and S.M. Newman, “Shining a Light on Dental Composite Restoratives,” Physics Today, April 2008, 82-83 (2008).

P.M. Johnson, J.W. Stansbury, and C.N. Bowman, “High-throughput Kinetic Analysis of Acrylate and Thiol-ene Photopolymerization Using Temperature and Exposure Time Gradients,” J. Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 46, 1502-1509 (2008).

P. Johnson, J.W. Stansbury, and C.N. Bowman, “Kinetic Modeling of a Comonomer Photopolymerization System Using High Throughput Conversion Data,” Macromolecules, 41, 230-237 (2008).

R.R. Hansen, H.D. Sikes, and C.N. Bowman, "Visual Detection of Labeled Oligonucleotides Using Visible-Light-Polymerization-Based Amplification," Biomacromolecules 9, 355-362 (2008).

H.D. Sikes, R.R. Hansen, L.M. Johnson, R. Jenison, J.W. Birks, K.L. Rowlen, and C.N. Bowman, "Using Polymeric Materials to Generate an Amplified Response to Molecular Recognition Events," Nature Materials, 7, 52-56 (2008).

Research Interests:

Photopolymerizations, Polymerization Reaction Engineering, Highly Crosslinked Polymers, Dental Materials, Nanotechnology

Our general research thrust is the investigation of the formation, structure and properties of crosslinked polymeric materials, particularly those formed from photopolymerization reactions. Specifically, our group is focusing on developing new materials and photopolymerization mechanisms for a variety of applications including biomaterials, microfluidic devices, dental restorations, liquid crystal displays, nanotechnology, and high technology. These interests are investigated by incorporating a mixture of polymerization reaction engineering, monomer and polymer synthesis, and experimental characterization.

Photopolymerization Reactions: The primary focus of our research effort involves the development, application, and understanding of photopolymerizations. We are currently utilizing a multifaceted approach to characterize the underlying mechanisms of the polymerization and the polymer structural evolution while also developing improved systems for a wide range of applications. The first approach involves experimental characterization and modeling of the polymerization kinetics and the crosslinked polymer structural evolution. A second emphasis is the development of new monomers. In this effort we are designing, synthesizing and evaluating numerous monomer structures to obtain the most rapidly polymerizing system that forms a polymer with ideal properties. Lastly, we are developing new types of photopolymerizations, including both living radical polymerizations and thiol-ene polymerizations. These polymerizations are developed with the goal of leading to new applications and novel material architectures.

Polymers for Micro- and Nanotechnology: Our thrusts in the areas of micro- and nanotechnology are threefold. First, we are attempting to develop polymer – liquid crystal composites with controlled polymer nanostructures. To date, we have successfully created a three-dimensional polymer architecture that involves approximately 3 Å sheets of polymer separating 30 Å thick sheets of liquid crystal. These systems form materials for liquid crystal displays that have improved optical and mechanical properties relative to their non-polymer stabilized counterparts. Secondly, we are designing improved microfluidic devices that utilize living radical photopolymerizations to form unique, three-dimensional constructs. These devices, or labs-on-a-chip, are then used to detect diseases or chemical compounds. Finally, our micro- and nanotechnology efforts also focus on developing techniques for producing nanometer size patterns on surfaces. These capabilities will enable higher resolution patterning for micro- and nanolithography, including, for example, higher resolution semiconductor production.

Biomaterials Development: A focus of our group has been the development of new materials for various biological systems. In this area we are attempting to produce materials with controlled properties and controllable interactions to improve biocompatibility and functional performance. A thrust of our efforts in this area is in the development of novel dental restorative materials. The proposed materials, based on our improved understanding of the monomer structure – polymer formation – polymer property relationships in photopolymerizations, are targeted to polymerize more rapidly and form a material with improved properties. Additionally, we have developed techniques for utilizing our thiol-ene and living radical photopolymerizations to produce materials that facilitate improved control of material properties and polymer surfaces, respectively, in biomaterials.