Matthew Golder

Matthew R. Golder is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington, Seattle. His research focuses on developing novel macromolecular architectures for applications in energy, sustainability, and biomedicine. He leads the Golder Research Group, which explores dynamic covalent bonds, fluxional crosslinkers, and reconfigurable polymers. Key projects include covalent adaptable networks (CANs), cyclic polymers, and mechanochemical upcycling of plastics. Golder holds an NSF CAREER Award and an Army Research Office YIP Award. His team emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and inclusivity, with a lab equipped for synthetic chemistry, GPC, and advanced characterization techniques.

Education: Ph.D. from MIT (postdoc in Jeremiah Johnson’s lab), postdoctoral research at MIT. Research interests include organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, and sustainable materials. Awards include the Thieme Chemistry Journal Award and lab grants from the NSF and ARO. Advising includes mentoring over a dozen graduate and undergraduate students. The lab’s facilities include advanced instrumentation for polymer characterization and mechanochemical processing.

Key achievements include pioneering work on bullvalene-based polymers and cyclic architectures, as well as mechanochemical strategies for plastic recycling. The team’s work has been published in journals like Chemical Science, JACS, and Angewandte Chemie. Collaborations span universities and national labs, including the Michael Lab (UW) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.