Dr. Christopher Bowland has focused on building a multifunctional composites program at ORNL to develop scalable routes to integrate nanomaterials into fiber-reinforced composites for embedded sensing applications. He has prior research experience with hydrothermal synthesis of ceramic nanowires and thin films on the surface of carbon fiber for sensing applications. He has also been involved at ORNL with developing sustainable, 3D-printable polymers utilizing lignin and investigating the molecular structure of those polymers in different environments using neutron scattering.
Chris joined ORNL in 2016 as a Wigner Fellow in the Carbon and Composites Group. He received his PhD in 2016 in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida where he worked on synthesizing ferroelectric films on carbon fiber for multifunctional composites.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Multifunctional Composites
- Piezoelectric/ferroelectric/piezoresistive Ceramic Nanomaterials
- Nanocomposites
- Carbon Fibers
- Printable Composites
- Fiber Reinforced Composite Sensors
- Fiber-matrix Interfaces
- Sustainable Materials
