Please consider attending the following: MATERIALS ENGINEERING SEMINAR "Investigation of pH-Sensitive Hydrogel Nanocomposite Behavior in Ionic Media" By Jessica Sargent Purdue MSE Ph.D. Preliminary Exam Advisors: Professor John A. Howarter and Professor Kendra A. Erk ABSTRACT pH-sensitive hydrogels and hydrogel nanocomposites have found applications across many fields, from medicine to infrastructure. In these applications, the hydrogel performance is strongly dictated by the character of the aqueous environment in which it is employed. While the complexity of and uses for these materials has grown significantly, the fundamental understanding of interactions between the hydrogels and their environments remains poorly understood. The vast majority of characterization currently performed on hydrogels in situ measures only bulk properties, while molecular scale properties are only observable in dry gel materials. In particular, the macroscale effect of salt ions on pH-sensitive hydrogels can be observed readily, but the character of the interactions causing the changes in hydrogel properties remain largely only theorized. This work proposes methods by which to characterize the ionic interactions occurring between polymer, nanoparticle, and counterion as well as the spatial arrangement of these species within the hydrogel nanocomposite matrix. In so doing, this work aims to develop fundamental structure-property relationships between the chemistry and structure of a hydrogel and interactions with its environment that will contribute to the informed design of pH-sensitive hydrogel materials for optimal performance in distinct target environments. Date: Monday, December 10, 2018 Time: 10:30 A.M. PURDUE MSE [cid:image003.png@01D48E09.2BFA2290] Place: ARMS 1028