Ngoc Nguyen

Staff Research Scientist

(217) 333-6510

nanguyen@illinois.edu

Suite 206 Applied Research Institute

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Biography

Dr. Nguyen is a polymer science and engineering expert who currently serves as a staff research scientist at the Illinois Applied Research Institute (ARI) of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

His academic journey began at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Chemical and Printing Engineering. During his Bachelor's program, he conducted studies and completed his research thesis on color management in industrial printing workflows. After graduating, he spent two years working in the printing industry. He earned a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering at HUST, where he worked on developing water-based inks for packaging printing.

After achieving his Master's degree, Dr. Nguyen became a lecturer at HUST and spent four years there teaching and doing research on printing inks before embarking on his Ph.D. studies. He pursued his doctoral degree at the University of Delaware, where he worked with Prof. Michael E. Mackay, his Ph.D. advisor, in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His research focused on flow-induced and -refined crystallization, morphology control of semiconducting polymers, and polymer-based nanocomposites. Dr. Nguyen also worked under the guidance of Prof. Jeffrey Pyun in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Arizona on the development of various polymeric sulfur materials using Pyun's novel synthesis technique called inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur. This method has since been widely used in research communities.

After his Ph.D., Dr. Nguyen moved to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Amit K. Naskar in the Materials Science and Technology Division for two years, where he worked on lignin valorization. He was later promoted to R&D staff scientist in the Chemical Sciences Division at ORNL. Then Dr. Nguyen returned to Vietnam and worked as a tenured assistant professor at HUST for two years before joining ARI.

Dr. Nguyen's extensive experience in academic, national lab, and industrial settings has allowed him to bring a unique perspective to his work.

Other Professional Employment

Staff Research Scientist, Applied Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2021-present)
Assistant Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (2019-2021)
R&D Staff Scientist, Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2018-2019)
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2016-2018)
Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (2006-2010)
Chemical Engineer, Tan Long Ltd., a representative of Dainippon Screen Japan (2004-2006)

Research Statement

Dr. Nguyen's research spans both fundamental and applied aspects, with a central goal of comprehending and precisely controlling the structure and properties of polymeric materials. Utilizing advanced characterization methods such as in-situ neutron/light/X-ray scattering techniques, alongside thermal, mechanical, rheological, and morphological analyses, he explores the fundamentals of macromolecular interactions, structural relaxation, molecular dynamics, morphology, and phase changes. His investigations delve into the fundamental understanding of macromolecular behaviors through materials design and during processing, ultimately aiming to enhance material performance. Dr. Nguyen's primary focus is on the development of low-cost, mass-producible materials that exhibit tailored moduli, strain deformations, tunable thermomechanical properties, shape memory effects, and self-healing capabilities. The overarching goal is to create multifunctional materials catering to specific applications.

His current research focuses on transforming renewable materials into value-added products employing industrially relevant processing techniques such as compression molding, fused-deposition modeling, extrusion, and melt-reactive processing, as well as melt-spinning, solution-spinning, blade coating, and roll-to-roll processing. Dr. Nguyen utilizes the unique molecular characteristics of natural polymers to design a wide range of applied materials.

Research Interests

Rheology and Processing of Polymer Solutions, Melts, and Suspensions
Flow-induced Crystallization
Semiconducting Polymers and Electronic Devices
Nanocomposites
Additive Manufacturing Materials
Polymer Upcycling
Fibers and Fiber-reinforced Composites
Stimuli-responsive Materials
Packaging Materials
Printing Inks and Coatings
Renewable Polymeric Materials
Wood-based Materials and Sustainable Plastics

Research Areas

Materials

Research Topics

Agriculture
Defense and Security
Health
Manufacturing

Selected Articles in Journals

Full List of Publications (*Corresponding Author/ **Equally Contributed)
N. A. Nguyen*, C. C. Bowland, L. He, N. C. Osti, M. D. Phan, J. K. Keum, M. Tyagi, K. M. Meek, K. C. Littrell, E. Mamontov, J. Ankner, A. K. Naskar*, A Sustainable Multi-Dimensional Printable Material (Advanced Sustainable Systems) 2023, 7, 2300079
N. A. Nguyen*, H. Shen, Y. Liu, M. E. Mackay*, Kinetics and Mechanism of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Crystallization in Solution under Shear Flow (Macromolecules) 2020, 53, 14, 5795–5804
N. A. Nguyen*, S. H. Barnes, C. C. Bowland, K. M. Meek, K. C. Littrell, J. K. Keum, and A. K. Naskar*, A Path for Lignin Valorization via Additive Manufacturing of High-Performance Sustainable Composites with Enhanced 3D-Printability (Science Advances) 2018, 4 (12), eaat4967
W. Chung, J. Griebel, E. Kim, H. Yoon, A. Simmonds, H. Jon, J. J. Wie, N. A. Nguyen, B.W. Guralnick, J. Park, Á. Somogyi, P. Theato, M.E. Mackay, Y. Sung, K. Char, J. Pyun*, The use of elemental sulfur as an alternative feedstock for polymeric materials (Nature Chemistry) 2013, 5, 518–524
N. A. Nguyen*, K. Kim, C. C. Bowland, J. Keum, L. Kearney, N. André, N. Labbe*, and A. K. Naskar*, A fundamental understanding of whole biomass dissolution in ionic liquid for regeneration of fiber by solution-spinning (Green Chemistry) 2019, 21, 4354-436

Invited Lectures

2024 American Physical Society, Unlocking the Dynamics of a Novel Natural Polymer-Based Material for Multiple Applications
2021 The 48th World Polymer Congress, In situ Small-Angle Neutron Scattering and Wide-Angle-X-ray Diffraction Study on Molecular Relaxation and Structural Reformation of a Multifunctional Material
2019 Carbon Fibers and Their Composites and Applications, Sustainable Fibers by Solution Spinning Whole Biomass
2019 Large Scale Structures- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Additive Manufacturing and Neutron Scattering of a Multifunctional Material
2018 Chemical Sciences Division- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Deformation and Flow of Structural and Functional Materials
2018 Frontiers in Biorefining-Chemicals and Products from Renewable Carbon, Intra- and inter-molecular Interactions of Lignocellulosic Biomass in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Acetate Ionic Liquid: Solution Spinability and Molecular Orientation
2016 Materials Science and Engineering Division- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Macromolecular Engineering: Structure-Property Relationships of Functional Polymers and Polymer Nanocomposites

Patents

Microporous Polymer Fibers and Their Use in Environmental Remediation, US Patent App. 18/121,338, 2023
Lignin-based Polymers with Enhanced Melt Extrusion Ability, US Patent 11,739,218, 2023
Bulk synthesis of carbon nanoparticles, Invention Disclosure, ORNL-DOE
A Solvent-Free Synthesis of Lignin-Derived Renewable Carbon with Tunable Porosity for Supercapacitor Electrodes, Invention Disclosure, ORNL-DOE
Multi-functional 3D-Printing Materials, U.S. Provisional Patent Application, No. 63/310,231, 2022
Plasticized Terephthalate-based Polyester Blends Containing Fatty Acids or Esters Thereof, US Patent 11,279,805, 2022
Lignin-based Polymers with Enhanced Melt Extrusion Ability, US Patent 11,248,121, 2022
Shape Memory Polymer Blend Materials, US Patent 11,124,652, 2021
Lignin-based Polymers with Enhanced Melt Extrusion Ability, US Patent 11,161,983, 2021

Magazine Articles

Journal Editorships

Section Board Member of Polymers
Academic Editor of Advances In Polymer Technology

Teaching Honors

2014 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award, University of Delaware

Research Honors

2023 Innovation Award (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, for previous work at ORNL)
2023 Journal Back Cover Highlight (Advanced Sustainable Systems, 7, 2300079)
2022 Innovation Award (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, for previous work at ORNL)
2020 Journal Cover Highlight (ACS Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 59, 1, 9-17)
2020 Inside Front Cover Highlight (Advanced Intelligent Systems, 2, 7, 2000022)
2020 Journal Highlight (Materials, 13, 8, 1940)
2019 Journal Back Cover Highlight (Green Chemistry, 21, 4354-436)
2019 Journal Back Cover Highlight (Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 40, 13, 1900059)
2018 Outstanding Postdoctoral Award (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
2018 Journal Cover Highlight (ACS Macro Letters, 7, 1328-1332)
2017 Composites and Advanced Materials Expo Best Paper Award (CAMX- The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo)
2016 SM & MSEG Poster Award for Soft Materials (University of Delaware)
2015 Outstanding Graduate student Research Award (University of Delaware)
2015 Society of Rheology Travel Award (The 87th Annual Meeting of the Society of Rheology)
2015 ACS Editors' Choice (ACS Macro Letters, 4, 9, 862-866)
2014 Poster Award Winner (Thermal Analysis Forum of the Delaware Valley, North American Thermal Analysis Society)
2014 Materials in Art Contest Award (University of Delaware)
2014 Professional Development Award (University of Delaware)
2014 American Conference on Neutron Scattering Travel Award (The American Conference on Neutron Scattering)
2014 Journal Inside Front Cover Highlight (Polymer Science, Part B, 52, 1469–1475)
2013 U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Summer School (The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology)
2013 Journal Inside Front Cover Highlight (Polymer Science, part A, 51, 3598–3606)

Public Service Honors

Chair of the Rheology Session, the 49th Annual Conference of the North American Thermal Analysis Society (2023)
Reviewer of over 20 Scientific Journals such as Advanced Engineering Materials, ACS Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, European Polymer, ACS Applied Bio Materials, ACS Biomacromolecules, Nanoscale Advances, and Composite Science and Technology
Topical Advisory Panel of Polymers Journal
Reviewer Board of Polymers Journal
President of Material Advantage student chapter, University of Delaware (2015)