Rafael Verduzco, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice, has been elected a 2024 Fellow of the American Physical Society.
He received the fellowship for his research into “molecular design, development, and understanding of electrochemically-active and stimuli-responsive polymers.”
“In my lab,” Verduzco said, “we develop polymers that are conductive and/or electrochemically active. This type of polymer can be used to make thin and flexible electronic devices and are also useful for applications like the recovery of valuable minerals from wastewater and for water remediation.”
Verduzco’s group is currently working on a variety of challenges and applications of these materials, including water treatment and separations, bioelectronic devices and electrochemical CO2 reduction. He and his colleagues have also studied and developed a type of branched polymer known as bottlebrush polymers, which can be used to make soft networks and stimuli-responsive materials.
Verduzco graduated from Rice with a B.S. in chemical engineering in 2001 and went on to earn an M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 2003 and 2007, respectively. After serving as a postdoctoral researcher in the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, he joined the Rice faculty in 2009.
Verduzco holds a joint appointment in materials science and nanoengineering.