Lab profile
The Christopher Barner Kowollik Lab
Christopher Barner Kowollik has not joined FindMyLab yet.
This page was put together from public sources so that students can find the group. Nobody from the lab is reading applications here.
You can still register your interest. We will contact Christopher Barner Kowollik to tell them a student is waiting, and email you as soon as they respond — or if they do not.
You can still register your interest. We will contact Christopher Barner Kowollik to tell them a student is waiting, and email you as soon as they respond — or if they do not.
About the lab
Photochemistry, polymer chemistry, and precision materials design.
The Barner-Kowollik Lab pioneers the intersection of photochemistry and macromolecular science, developing light-controlled chemical systems with unmatched precision. The group explores how photons can be used as synthetic tools to guide chemical reactivity, enabling wavelength-orthogonal, spatiotemporally resolved polymerizations and material transformations. By designing molecular photoswitches and photoresins that respond selectively to different colors of light, the team achieves programmable soft matter and 3D-printed architectures with tunable mechanical and optical properties. Core research themes include precision photochemistry, photoinduced polymer folding into single-chain nanoparticles, sequence-defined photoswitchable macromolecules, and catalytic light-printed materials. Applications span from advanced additive manufacturing and adaptive materials to environmental sensing and catalysis. The lab’s approach blends synthetic chemistry, laser-based lithography, and spectroscopy to engineer functional materials at the nanoscale. Students with interests in photochemistry, polymer synthesis, and materials characterization—and who enjoy bridging chemistry, physics, and engineering—will thrive in this highly interdisciplinary and technology-driven environment.