A Polymer That Defies Nature: The First Molecularly Impermeable Plastic
For decades, scientists believed all plastics shared one unavoidable weakness: no matter how dense or strong, gases could always slip through. Even the toughest polymers, from bulletproof Kevlar to everyday food packaging, may look solid, but at the molecular level, tiny gas molecules can still sneak through. That’s why potato chips go stale and packaged food loses its crispness.
Now, a collaboration between researchers at Boston University’s College of Engineering, MIT, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Massachusetts and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has overturned that assumption. In a study published today in Nature, the team reports the discovery of the first polymer that is molecularly impermeable; a man-made material that acts as a perfect barrier to gas molecules.
Nanomaterials and Vaccine Research Earns CMBE Rising Star Award
Michelle Teplensky was awarded the Biomedical Engineering Society’s 2026 Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Rising Star Award.
ASM Materials Experience 2025 with BU MSE
Boston University hosted the 2024 ASM Materials Experience, a hands-on event introducing high school students to the exciting world of materials science and engineering.
BU Professor Bridging Sustainability with Innovation in Material Science and Beyond
Dr. Werner brings interdisciplinary collaboration into pursuing sustainable solutions.
MSE 2024 Graduation Photos
See this slideshow to view our wonderful graduates from Materials, we can’t wait to see where you take your degrees, and are so proud of you. Also a big congratulations to Jillian Rix-Mulligan on receiving the 2024 Division of Materials Science & Engineering Dissertation Award for their dissertation, “Relating Microstructure and Performance of Solid Oxide […]
Emily Ghosh: Working at SpaceX, and Researching Renewable Energy Technologies for a Cleaner Environment
They tasked her to build a vacuum chamber she knew nothing about –– but she realized the project paired her love for physics with hands-on learning.
Newly Appointed Materials Science Engineering Faculty
Welcome to our newly appointed faculty members! Read below to find out about their research interests, their primary appointments and what they are delving into at Boston University. Abigail Plummer, Assistant Professor (ME, MSE) Professor Plummer combines theory, experiment and simulation in her research to explore how materials deform and adapt in complex environments. The […]
Pioneering Pathways
“We need everyone — not just women — to contribute to addressing problems in women’s health.”
Aiming to Bring OA to its Knees
NIH grant enables Albro and team to advance first-in-kind scope for early detection of osteoarthritis.
Royal Society of Chemistry Honors Mark Grinstaff
Professor Mark Grinstaff won the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Centenary Prize in “recognition of brilliance in research and innovation.”