about us
Meet our principal investigator
Dylan Barber, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He founded the Precision Polymers Group to foster a collaborative research environment that builds big molecules to solve big problems.
The group’s research focuses on developing new synthesis strategies, informed by polymer physics, to unlock new soft matter with previously inaccessible properties. Leveraging Barber’s prior work on stimulus-responsive and high-permittivity polymers, the team aims to expand the capabilities of soft matter in service of safer batteries, bioinspired molecular machines, and better solutions for end-of-life processing of commodity polymers.
Prior to establishing the Precision Polymer Group, Dylan worked with Jennifer A. Lewis at Harvard University on the rational design and synthesis of zwitterionic liquid dielectrics and 3D-printed porous electrodes for electrochemical flow systems. He earned his Ph.D. under the mentorship of Todd Emrick and Alfred J. Crosby at UMass Amherst, specializing in the synthesis of stimulus-responsive polymers and manufacture of bioinspired filamentous assemblies.
our lab philosophy
We believe that failure fuels discovery, collaboration sparks innovation, and safety sustains excellence
Groundbreaking innovation often lies at the end of a long sequence of successively better failures. As our lab tackles grand questions in polymer science and engineering, we are not afraid to fail, repeatedly, in our relentless pursuit of answers.
Increasingly, transformative science happens at the interface between disciplines. We seek to build teams of experts from across domains and welcome opportunities to contribute to big, interdisciplinary challenges.
Great science begins with physical safety and mental health. We maintain a rigorous commitment to laboratory safety and a culture of empathy that supports the wellbeing of everyone in our team.
Join our team
We’re building a team of curious, collaborative researchers who want to shape the future of polymer science. If you’re a potential graduate student, postdoc, or collaborator interested in making, understanding, or implementing groundbreaking soft materials, we would love to hear from you.
Open positions will be posted soon. In the meantime, feel free to reach out with your CV and a brief statement of interest.