Caitlin Sample
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Mail code: 5001Campus: Tempe
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Caitlin Sample is an assistant professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and the Center for Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing at Arizona State University. Prof. Sample received a joint S.B. in Materials Science and Applied Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014, where her interest in designing polymeric materials was sparked by the complex functions of natural systems. She developed her synthetic expertise across length-scales, from small-molecule organic semiconductors to 3D-printed polymer networks, as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned her doctorate in materials in 2020 under the supervision of Profs. Craig Hawker and Christopher Bates. Following her graduate work, Prof. Sample was a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Marc Hillmyer at the University of Minnesota. Her work at Minnesota centered on the green synthesis of polymers for applications in sustainability, including recycling processes and separation technologies. Her work at ASU focuses on the molecular design of high-performance polymers with reduced environmental impacts from synthesis to end-of-life.
- Postdoctoral Fellow. University of Minnesota, 2020–2023
- Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014–2020
- S.B. Materials Science and Applied Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010–2014
Synthetic versatility and a wide range of properties have made polymers central to everyday life, and they will continue to form a key part of the materials ecosystem for the foreseeable future. The ongoing prevalence of polymers in society necessitates solutions to minimize their impact on the environment, both in mitigating waste from the materials of the past while preventing waste from materials of the future. My research aims to address these challenges by harnessing the ever-evolving tools of polymer chemistry to design systems with improved end-of-use outcomes, spanning the areas of reuse, mechanical recycling, and chemical recycling. Research directions in the group will include (i) understanding how dynamics bonds can improve the performance of microstructured plastics, (ii) investigating compatibilizers for the recycling of mixed plastic waste, and (iii) developing circularly recyclable systems for additive manufacturing (3d printing) applications.
Full publication list: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PQYwVUkAAAAJ
Sample, C. S.; Kellstedt, E. A.; Hillmyer, M. A.* Tandem ROMP/Hydrogenation Approach to Hydroxy-Telechelic Linear Polyethylene. ACS Macro Lett., 2022, 11, 608–614. 10.1021/acsmacrolett.2c00144
Robinson, L. R.; Self, J. L.; Fusi, A. D.; Bates, M. W.; Read de Alaniz, J.; Hawker, C. J.; Bates, C. M.*; Sample, C. S.* Chemical and Mechanical Tunability of 3D-Printed Dynamic Covalent Networks Based on Boronate Esters. ACS Macro Lett., 2021, 10, 857–863. 10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00257
Sample, C. S.; Lee, S.-H.; Li, S.; Bates, M. W.; Lensch, V.; Versaw, B. A.; Bates, C. M.; Hawker, C. J.* Metal-Free Room-Temperature Vulcanization of Silicones via Borane Hydrosilylation. Macromolecules, 2019, 52, 7244–7250. 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01585
Sample, C. S.; Lee, S.-H.; Bates, M. W.; Ren, J. M.; Lawrence, J.; Lensch, V.; Gerbec, J. A.; Bates, C. M.; Li, S.;* Hawker, C. J.* Metal-Free Synthesis of Poly(silyl ether)s under Ambient Conditions. Macromolecules, 2019, 52, 1993–1999. 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b02741
Sample, C. S.; Goto, E.; Handa, N. V.; Page, Z. A.; Luo, Y.; Hawker, C. J.* Modular Synthesis of Asymmetric Rylene Derivatives. J. Mater. Chem. C, 2017, 5, 1052–1056. 10.1039/C6TC05139A
Courses
2025 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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BCH 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
BCH 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BCH 493 | Honors Thesis |
CHM 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
CHM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
CHM 493 | Honors Thesis |
CHM 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
BCH 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
BCH 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
CHM 598 | Special Topics |
CHM 494 | Special Topics |
2024 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BCH 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
BCH 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BCH 493 | Honors Thesis |
CHM 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
CHM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
CHM 493 | Honors Thesis |
BCH 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
CHM 233 | General Organic Chemistry I |
CHM 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
2024 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CHM 598 | Special Topics |
CHM 494 | Special Topics |