Glenn H. Fredrickson

Glenn H. Fredrickson is the Mitsubishi Chemical Professor of Functional Materials in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, with additional appointments in the Materials Department. He directs the Mitsubishi Chemical Center for Advanced Materials (MC-CAM) and the Complex Fluids Design Consortium (CFDC), and previously chaired the Chemical Engineering department (1998-2001). He is an elected member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.

Education

• Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Stanford University (1984)
• M.S. Chemical Engineering, Stanford University (1981)
• B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Florida (1980)

Research Interests

Fredrickson leads an internationally recognized program in theoretical and computational polymer science, focusing on self-assembly of block copolymers, complex fluids, and field-theoretic simulation methods. His group pioneered field-theoretic simulations (FTS)—numerical techniques to solve statistical field theories of polymers—enabling predictive design of advanced materials including high-performance plastics, ion-conducting electrolytes, and nanostructured membranes. Current themes include quantum-fluid analogs, machine-learning-accelerated discovery, and sustainable polymer formulations.

Recent Publication Trends

Between 2022 and 2025, Fredrickson’s group published extensively on block copolymer morphology control, polymer electrolytes for energy storage, phase-separation kinetics, and quantum many-body analogs in soft matter. Notable advances include machine-learning-enhanced self-consistent field theory, molecularly informed models for surfactant and polyelectrolyte systems, and the application of polymer field theory to spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates.

Scientific Awards & Honors

• Election to National Academy of Sciences (2021)
• Materials Theory Award, Materials Research Society (2017)
• William H. Walker Award, AIChE (2016)
• Polymer Physics Prize, American Physical Society (2007)
• Election to National Academy of Engineering (2003)
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1992)
• Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1991)
• Presidential Young Investigator Award, NSF (1991)

Research Group & Funding

The Fredrickson Research Group comprises ~15 graduate students and several post-doctoral researchers. The group is supported by multi-agency grants including NSF, DOE, and industry partnerships through the Mitsubishi Chemical Center for Advanced Materials and the Complex Fluids Design Consortium.

Laboratory & Collaborative Networks

State-of-the-art computational facilities are housed in the Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) at UCSB. Collaborative projects extend to leading experimental groups worldwide, integrating theory with synthesis, characterization, and device testing to accelerate materials innovation.