Program Objectives

Macromolecules and polymers are deeply related to various phenomena of life and exhibit unique properties as advanced functional materials. In the Undergraduate Program of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, we are carrying out a wide range of research related to such macromolecules and polymers. Undergraduate students are provided with various educational course options to develop their multidisciplinary faculties. Relevant activities are characterized as follows:
(1) To investigate and clarify the nature of well known polymers by examining them in fresh ways. This will help students to clearly understand how little we know about the structure and properties of these polymers, even though it has been assumed that their characteristics have been fully researched.
(2) To create novel macromolecular materials and structures and to understand in which way they are unique.

Curriculum Overview

The aforementioned two approaches are fundamentally related and lead towards research into the unknown. Within this framework our current education and research activities are devoted to the following specific fields:

1. The structural relationship between macromolecules and macromolecular nanostructures:
   this includes research on self-organized polymeric structures, multiphase macromolecules, and liquid crystals. Computational approaches are also pursued.
2. Physical processes and the thermodynamics of viscoelastic materials and soft matter: in this regard, rheology and polymeric material electro-rheology are also studied.
3. Research and development of new materials and structures: these include advanced materials with unique electronic and photonic functions, and peculiar structures formed through nonlinear processes.