2025
- May: our undergraduate researchers Trygve Santelman and Francisco Tramonte Bisnieto graduate with their B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Many congratulations!
- April: Jesse Kuebler gives a Pierson Graduate Seminar at the Mechanical & Materials Engineering department.
- March: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester co-organizes and chairs a session on polymer crystallization at the 2025 APS Global Physics Summit in Anaheim.
- March: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives a talk at the 2025 APS Global Physics Summit in Anaheim.
- March: Jesse Kuebler presents a poster at the 2025 APS Global Physics Summit in Anaheim.
- January: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester receives a National Science Foundation award as PI.
2024
- October: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives an invited talk at the American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting in Ohama, NE.
- September: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives an invited talk at the International Discussion Meeting on Polymer Crystallization in Yonezawa, Japan.
- May: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives an invited talk at the POLY-CHAR 2024 conference in Madrid.
- May: Jesse is selected as the College of Engineering’s 2024 Outstanding Graduate Researcher recipient. Congratulations!
- April: Shantell successfully defends her master's thesis. Many congratulations!
- April: Jesse is awarded the University of Nebraska-Lincoln 2023-2024 Outstanding Graduate Research & Creative Activities Award. Congratulations!
- April: Francisco is awarded a 24-25 UCARE fellowship to carry out undergraduate research in our lab. Congratulations Francisco!
- March: our paper “Selecting for Surface-Induced vs Bulk Crystallization in P3HT Thin Films: Distinct Morphology, Orientation, and Linear Growth Rates” is published in Macromolecules. Congratulations Jesse and Linus!
- March: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives an invited talk at the 2024 APS March Meeting in Minneapolis.
- March: Jesse Kuebler presents a poster at the 2024 APS March Meeting in Minneapolis.
2023
- December: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester receives a Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research as co-PI for collaborative research with Prof. Eric Markvicka.
- October: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives an invited talk at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University.
- August: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester's collaborative team receives a Grand Challenge Catalyst award ($1.36 million). "Four engineering-led projects gain Grand Challenges Catalyst funding".
- July: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester receives a University of Nebraska Collaboration Initiative grant as PI.
- July: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester receives a University of Nebraska Collaboration Initiative grant as co-PI.
- July: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives an invited talk at the 2023 NATAS conference in Washington DC.
- July: UNL press release on our collaborative work on micro- and nano-plastic release "Nebraska study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers".
- June: Our collaborative effort on micro- and nano-plastic release yields its first publication: “Assessing the Release of Microplastics and Nanoplastics from Plastic Containers and Reusable Food Pouches: Implications for Human Health” in Environmental Science & Technology and has been featured as a Research Highlight in Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02091-w).
- April: our paper “Direct observation of two-step, stratified crystallization and morphology in conjugated polymers” is published and is featured in the Front Cover of Macromolecules! Congratulations Jesse and Tucker! Here is the UNL press release: "Team IDs emergence of surprising layers in nanomaterial".
- April: congratulations to Jesse Kuebler for winning an award with his presentation "Role of Processing and Molecular Characteristics on Crystallization of Poly(3-hexylthiophene)” at the Spring 2023 Student Research Days competition at UNL.
- April: Trygve Santelman and Francisco Tramonte are awarded UCARE undergraduate research funding for the 2023-24 academic year!
- April: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives a seminar at the Mechanical & Materials Engineering department in UNL.
- March: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester organized and chaired the invited session "Recent Progress in Polymer Crystallization" at the 2023 APS March meeting.
- February: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester gives a talk at the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering department at Florida State University.
2022
- October: our paper "Combined role of regioregularity and molecular weight on melt-crystallization and self-nucleation of poly(3-hexylthiophene)" has been published in Polymer. Congratulations Ramin and Jesse!
- October: congratulations to Trygve Santelman for receiving a John A. Woollam Foundation Scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year!
- August: Jeremy Lestang joins our lab for the 2022-23 year as part of his double MS program!
- June: Prof. Fernandez-Ballester receives a NCESR Instrumentation award!