Phil Rauscher joined the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) as a graduate student in 2016 and is now a National Science Foundation fellow co-advised by Profs. Stuart Rowan and Juan de Pablo.
“Pritzker Molecular Engineering was my top choice for a number of reasons,” said Rauscher. “I've always had broad scientific interests, and at PME students are encouraged to explore all of it. Also, I particularly enjoyed the innovative atmosphere that comes with a newer program. That, together with the world-class faculty, made the choice easy.”
"Of all the graduate engineering programs that I looked at, no other place was as ambitious in their goals,” Rauscher added. “The people here aren't just interested in being great engineers—they want to redefine what engineering is."
Rauscher works on simulation and physical characterization of polyrotaxanes. Rotaxanes, catenanes, and other topologically linked molecules have generated a great deal of excitement due to their applications as actuators, sensors, and other molecular machines.
“Of particular interest is the interface between such molecular architectures and polymer science and engineering," said Rauscher. “How can we model and understand the physical properties of bizarre and exciting new materials such as slide-ring gels? What new tools or methods do we need to develop for these pursuits? Can we use simulation to predict and guide the synthesis of new high-performance systems?”
Rauscher grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Emory University in 2013, where he investigated the physical aging of nano-confined polymer glasses in the presence of rubbery interfaces. He then worked as a consultant in the Cloud Services group at IBM.
“I spent several years working as a technical consultant outside of science and engineering before returning to graduate school, and I can honestly say that I faced more intellectual challenges in my first quarter at PME than in three years at my old job,” said Rauscher. “The experience has been fantastic."