Ryan Hayward

  • James and Catherine Patten Endowed Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
  • Department Chair
  • CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
  • MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRAM
Ryan Hayward wearing glasses and a button-down shirt with the background of a building blurred.
Address

Office: JSCBB D121

Education

BSE Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, 1999
PhD Chemical Engineering, UC Santa Barbara, 2004

Awards

  • Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Overall Achievement Award (2023)
  • Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Service Award (2021)
  • National Science Foundation Special Creativity Extension (2019)
  • Fellow of the American Physical Society (2018)
  • Blavatnik National Awards Finalist in Physical Sciences & Engineering (2018)
  • Chaire Michelin, ESPCI (2016)
  • Dudley A. Saville Lecturer, Princeton University (2014)
  • American Physical Society John H. Dillon Medal (2014)
  • Journal of Polymer Science Innovation Award (2013)
  • DOE Early Career Award (2011)
  • ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry Unilever Award (2011)
  • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2010)
  • 3M Nontenured Faculty Award (2009-2011)
  • ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award (2009)
  • National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2008)

Selected Publications

  • O. Lee, M. Mcbride, Y. Li, R.C. Hayward, "Poly(siloxane) derived ionosilicone elastomers reveal the role of interfacial polymer dynamics in ionic double-layer rectification", ACS Macro Letters 14, 610-615 (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.5c00207
  • J.C. Roback, A. Nagrath, S. Kristipati, C.D. Santangelo, R.C. Hayward, "Tuning stiffness of mechanical metamaterial unit cells via transitions to second-order rigid and pre-stressed states", Soft Matter  21, 3890 - 3898 (2025). DOI: 10.1039/d4sm01318b
  • P. Pranda, A. Hedegaard, H. Kim, J. Clapper, E. Nelson, L. Hines, R.C. Hayward, T. White, “Directional adhesion of monodomain liquid crystalline elastomers”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 16, 5, 6394–6402 (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c16760
  • O.A. Lee, M. Mcbride, M. Ticknor, J. Sharpes, R.C. Hayward, “Pendent sulfonylimide ionic liquid monomers and ionoelastomers via SuFEx click chemistry”, Chemistry of Materials, 35, 23, 10030-10040 (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c02038
  • D.J. Levine, O.A. Lee, G.M. Campbell, M.K. McBride, H.J. Kim, K.T. Turner, R.C. Hayward, J.H. Pikul, “A low-voltage, high-force capacity electroadhesive clutch based on ionoelastomer heterojunctions”, Advanced Materials, 35, 2304455 (2023). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202304455
  • W. Xu, D. Sanchez, U. Raucci, H. Zhou, Z. Dong, M. Hu, C.J. Bardeen, T.J. Martinez, R.C. Hayward, “Photo-actuators via epitaxial growth of microcrystal arrays in polymer membranes”, Nature Materials, 22, 1152–1159 (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-023-01610-4
  • D. Limberg, J.-H. Kang, R.C. Hayward, “Triplet–Triplet Annihilation Photopolymerization for High-Resolution 3D Printing”, JACS, 144, 12, 5226-5232 (2022). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c11022
  • M. Lee, S. Perry, R.C. Hayward, “Complex Coacervation of Polymerized Ionic Liquids in Non-Aqueous Solvents”, ACS Polymers Au, 1, 100 (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acspolymersau.1c00017
  • H. Kim, S. Sundaram, N. Tanjeem, J.-H. Kang, T. Emrick, R.C. Hayward, “Coupled Oscillation and Spinning of Photothermal Particles in Marangoni Optical Traps”, PNAS, 118, e2024581118 (2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2024581118
  • H. J. Kim, B. Chen, Z. Suo, R.C. Hayward, “Ionoelastomer junctions between polymer networks of fixed anions and cations”, Science, 367, 773-776 (2020). DOI: 10.1126/science.aay8467

Research Interests

Assembly of polymer and particle-based nanostructures; mechanics and instabilities of soft active materials.

Active polymer materials and interfaces 

Our group works on a variety of projects related to soft and stimulus-responsive polymer films that can be dynamically reconfigured to change their structures and properties. We take advantage of mechanical instabilities and patterned growth as mechanisms to drive structural transformations.

Self assembly of polymers and particles

We study questions related to assembly of polymers and particles in a variety of contexts including emulsion processing, solution-state crystallization-driven assembly, and melt-state organization in nanocomposites. Our primary interests lie in developing approaches to tailor nanoscale structure for materials with applications ranging from encapsulation and delivery to renewable energy.