Edwin L. Thomas

Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering 

BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, 1969 
PhD Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, 1974

Room 6-113, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA  02139
617-253-6901 or 617-253-5931 (phone) 617-252-1175 (fax)
elt@mit.edu
Research Group Website

Professor Thomas and his students carry out research on photonics, phononics, interference lithography and mechanical behavior of microtrusses, polymer physics and engineering of the mechanical and optical properties of block copolymers, liquid crystalline polymers, and hybrid organic-inorganic nanocomposites. One area of special interest is photonics and the fabrication of polymeric photonic crystals using self-assembly, especially with block copolymers, and holographic interference lithography. For these studies, large emphasis is placed on the understanding of complex relations between the lattice symmetry and optical properties of periodic structures. Another area of particular focus is phononics. Just as periodic variation in refractive index opens gaps in photonic band structure of a medium, periodic variation in density and sound velocities may create band-gaps for mechanical waves. His group is exploring the way light and sound propagate in quasicrystalline photonic and phononic structures. This opens the possibility to control properties and propagation of light and sound in dual band gap structures. Other major topics in Professor Thomas’ research are structured polymers. His structured materials research concentrates on enhancing our ability to fabricate complex structures with characteristic length in submicron and nanometer range in order to create materials with superior properties that can be tailored to a particular application. Understanding the influence of composition and processing conditions on the resultant microstructure of polymers and how this determines the properties is the central part of his polymer morphology research.       

Selected Publications

Kang, Y., Walish, J.J., Gorishnyy, T., Thomas, E.L., “Broad Wavelength Range Chemically Tunable Block Copolymer Photonic Gels,” Nature Materials, 6 (12), 957-960 (2007).

Maldovan, M., Ullal, C.K., Jang, J.-H., and Thomas, E.L., "Sub-Micrometer Scale Periodic Porous Cellular Structures: Microframes Prepared by Holographic Interference Lithography," Advanced Materials, 19 (22), 3809-3813 (2007).

Jang, J.-H., Dendukuri, D., Hatton, T.A., Thomas, E.L., Doyle, P.S., “A Route to Three-Dimensional Structures in a Microfluidic Device: Stop Flow Interference Lithography,” Angewandte Chemie, 46 (47), 9027-9031 (2007).

Gorishnyy, T., Jang, J.-H., Koh, C.Y., Thomas, E.L., "Direct Observation of a Hypersonic Band Gap in Two-Dimensional Single Crystalline Phononic Structures," Applied Physics Letters, 91, 121915, (2007).

Yoon, B., Huh, J., Ito, H., Frommer, J., Sohn, B-H., Kim, J-H., Thomas, E.L., Park, C., Kim, H-C., “Smart Self-Adjustment of Surface Micelles of an Amphiphilic Block Copolymer to Nanoscopic Pattern Boundaries,” Advanced Materials, 19 (20), 3342-3348 (2007).

Prof. Thomas and collaborators Prof. Caroline Ross, Prof. Karl Berggren of EECS, Ion Bita PhD '06, Joel Yang, and Yeon Sik Jung's research on self-assembly methods with potential for microchips was recently published in Science. See the MIT News Office for further details.

The Thomas group's color-changing gels have been widely covered in the media; see the MIT News Office for their story (Nov. 2007). ScienCentral's coverage includes video.

Another recent research development was use of ultraviolet light to sculpt three-dimensional microparticles that could have many applications in medical diagnostics and tissue engineering, with Prof. Pat Doyle's group. See Science Daily for the full story (Dec. 2007). The story was also reported by Technology Review.

Prof. Thomas and the ISN have been profiled in Technology Review. Technology Insider wrote about OmniGuide Communications, a company founded by Yoel Fink, John Joannopoulos, and Ned Thomas. 2004 and March 2006). "Perfect mirror" fibers are used in cancer surgeries at Brigham and Women's Hospital, as reported by the MIT News Office.