Dalton is from Terre Haute, Indiana and is currently a third-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago pursuing a BS in molecular engineering and a BS in chemistry. In addition to his studies, Dalton is a member of the university’s collegiate swim team. He will be working in the Tirrell Research group as a research assistant under Jeff Ting, aiding in the study of multiblock polymers and polyelectrolyte complexes.
Dalton is currently synthesizing multiblock polymers and polyelectrolyte complexes through the RAFT polymerization technique, a controlled method of polymer formation allowing for accurate preparation of desirable molecular attributes. These assemblies can be used to study the effects of various properties (such as individual monomer polarity, block sizes, and charge density) in preparation of materials libraries geared toward tailorable viscoelastic and thermodynamic properties. Ultimately, the study of these properties could be used to fine-tune specific physical and chemical properties into larger polymer matrices, allowing for a plethora of applications in fields such as tissue engineering, gene therapy, and new biomaterials development.
