Professor Roman Boulatov

Personal Statement

Roman Boulatov received his PhD from Stanford under James Collman for work on metalloporphyrins, particularly for catalytic low-temperature oxygen reduction. After a postdoc at Harvard with George Whitesides, where he explored unconventional means of energy conversion, he started his independent research program at University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign in the broad field of covalent mechanochemistry. His group's major accomplishment at UIUC was the development of a method of inducing mechanochemical reactions without the need for coupled macroscopic motion. This method enabled experimental studies of mechanochemistry with a molecular-level resolution and revealed that the range of mechanochemical responses extends beyond the conventional load-accelerated dissociation of covalent bonds. In 2012 his group moved to the University of Liverpool, where it continues to integrate synthesis, physical measurements, quantum-chemical and empirical calculations to develop a general conceptual framework of polymer mechanochemistry. His group works closely with industrial partners to exploit these unique capabilities to accelerate the development of new polymer materials and polymer processing methods.