Lucia Fernandez-Ballester

Lucia Fernandez-Ballester

Contact Information:

City Campus (Lincoln)
NH W332
(402) 472-3994
(402) 472-8292 (Fax)
lucia.fernandez@unl.edu

Assistant Professor

Academic Degrees

  • Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
  • M.S., California Institute of Technology
  • B.S., University of Alicante

Research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students

The group is currently looking for motivated graduate and undergraduate students. Backgrounds/majors in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, and Chemistry are all excellent fits for our research group.

If you are interested in available research opportunities, please contact Prof. Fernández-Ballester.

Areas of Research and Professional Interest

  • Conducting polymers for energy applications
  • Life cycle, sustainability, and environmental impact of polymers
  • Polymer crystallization
  • Processing and engineering of polymers
  • Polymer composites  

About Lucia Fernandez-Ballester

My goal is to address growing technological needs by understanding and controlling the fundamental mechanism of crystallization of polymers during processing. Currently, advances in synthesis of polymers offer unprecedented opportunities to direct crystallization, morphology, and properties. Also, newer technologies such as 3D-printing are rapidly developing but have not yet reached their full potential. My research seeks to overcome current limitations to achieve rational design of materials and processes, which can lead to complex materials of advanced properties.

In my lab, a range of in-situ and ex-situ experimental techniques is used to explore the interplay between molecular characteristics, structure development, and final morphology and properties. Some of the experimental techniques that we use are differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM), real-time optical birefringence, and synchrotron X-ray scattering (WAXD/SAXS).

Funding

  • National Science Foundation
  • Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research
  • Nebraska Research Initiative
  • Woollam Foundation

Selected Publications