LaShanda T. Korley

Joint Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & Engineering

Director, Center for Plastics Innovation (CPI)

Education

• Post-Doctorate – 2007 Cornell University
• Post-Doctorate – 2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Doctorate – 2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Bachelors – 1999 Georgia Institute of Technology

About LaShanda Korley

Prof. LaShanda T. J. Korley is a Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware (UD). Previously, she held the Climo Associate Professorship of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, where she started her independent career in 2007. Taking inspiration from nature, her research program involves understanding the design rules employed by nature and applying these strategies to the development of mechanically-enhanced and tunable materials. Prof. Korley is the Director of the recently awarded Energy Frontier Research Center – Center for Plastics Innovation (CPI) funded by the Department of Energy and also the Co-Director of the recently announced Materials Research Science and Center – UD Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials (UD CHARM). She is also the Principal Investigator for the National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE): Bio-inspired Materials and Systems and the Associate Director of the Center for Research in Soft matter & Polymers (CRiSP) at the University of Delaware.

Select Publications

For a complete listing of publications, please view the Full CV.

1. Mhatre, S.V.; Mahajan, J.; Epps, T.H., III; Korley, L.T.J.; Lignin-derivable alternatives to conventional non-isocyanate polyurethane thermosets with enhanced toughness, Materials Advances, Accepted 2022
2. Hinton, Z.R.; Kots, P.A.; Vlachos, D.G.; Soukaseum, M.; Epps, T.H., III; Korley, L.T.J.; Antioxidant-Induced Catalyst Transformations in the Hydrocracking of Polyethylene Waste, Green Chemistry, 2022, 24, 7332 – 7339; DOI: 10.1039/D2GC02503E, Invited Journal Cover
3. Epps, T.H., III; Korley, L.T.J.; Yan, T.; Beers, K.L.; Burt, T.M.; Sustainability of Synthetic Plastics: Considerations in Materials Life-Cycle Management, JACS Au 2022, 2, 1, 3-11, Invited Article; DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.1c00191
4. Vance, B.C.; Kots, P.A.; Wang, C.; Hinton, Z.R.; Quinn, C.M.; Epps, T.H., III; Korley, L.T.J.; Vlachos, D.G.; Single Pot Catalyst Strategy to Branched Products via Adhesive Isomerization and Hydrocracking to Polyethylene over Platinum Tungstated Zirconia, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 2021, 120483; DOI:10.1016/j.apcatb.2021.120483
5. Korley, L.T.J.; Epps, T.H., III; Helms, B.A.; Ryan, A.J.; Polymer Upcycling – Adding Value and Tackling Circularity, Science 2021, 373, 66–69, Invited Article; DOI: 10.1126/science.abg4503
6. Mahajan, J.; O’Dea, R.; Norris, J.; Korley, L.T.J.; Epps, III, T.H.; Aromatics from Lignocellulosic Biomass: A Platform for High-Performance Thermosets, Invited Perspective, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering 2020, 8(40), 15072–15096; DOI:10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c04817
7. Thompson, C.B.; Chatterjee, S.; Korley, L.T.J.; Invited Article, Special Issue – Biomimetic Polymers, Gradient Supramolecular Interactions and Tunable Mechanics in Polychaete Jaw Inspired Supramolecular Interpenetrating Networks, European Polymer Journal 2019, 116, 201-209; DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2019.04.015
8. Alexander, S.L.M; Korley, L.T.J.; Programming Shape and Tailoring Transport: Advancing Hygromorphic Bilayers with Aligned Nanofibers, Soft Matter 2017, 13, 5589 – 5596; DOI: 10.1039/C7SM00962C
9. Jordan, A.M; Kim, S.-E.; Van de Voorde, K.M.; Porkoski, J.; Korley, L.T.J.; In Situ Fabrication of Fiber Reinforced Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Tissue Engineering Scaffolds, ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. 2017, 3 (8), 1869–1879; DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00229
10. Matolyak, L.E.; Keum, J.K.; Korley, L.T.J.; Molecular design – network architecture and its impact on the organization and mechanics of peptide-polyurea hybrids, Biomacromolecules 2016, 17(12), 3931–3939; DOI:10.1021/acs.biomac.6b013

Patents

1. Epps, III, T.; Korley, L.T.J.; Green, M. “Bio-Based Polysulfones and Uses Thereof”, Invention Disclosure, May 21, 2019
2. Korley, L. T.; Wnek, G. E.; Jordan, A.; “Fiber reinforced hydrogels and methods of making same”, US 10,286,585 B2, May 14, 2019
3. Korley, L. T.; Stone, D.A.; Wnek, G. E.; Wanasekara, N.D. “Polymer composite and method of forming same”, US 9,797,075 B2, October 24, 2017

Awards

For a complete listing of awards, please view the Full CV.

1. ACS Fellow, 2023
2. RSC Fellow, 2023
3. AIChE Fellow, 2023
4. ACS POLY Fellow, 2023
5. U.S. Science Envoy, 2023 Cohort
6. AIChE MAC William W. Grimes Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering, 2022
7. APS Fellow, 2022
8. ACS PMSE Fellow, 2022

Research Areas

Bio-inspired systems, hierarchical peptide polymer hybrids, sustainable materials, polymer recycling and upcycling strategies, new fiber and composite manufacturing strategies, responsive composites, interplay of covalent and non-covalent interactions.