James Watkins

James Watkins is a Professor in the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research focuses on nanoscale and hybrid materials for advanced devices, including energy storage, flexible electronics, and metamaterials. He leads the Watkins Research Group, which integrates fundamental studies of polymer phase behavior with scalable manufacturing techniques like roll-to-roll processing and nanoimprint lithography. Key applications include structural batteries, metalenses, and supercapacitors.

Education: B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University (1987–1988), followed by a Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering from UMass Amherst (1997). His work spans interdisciplinary collaborations in materials science, electrical engineering, and chemistry.

Research Interests: Macromolecular templates for device structures, materials synthesis in supercritical fluids, phase behavior studies, and scalable nanomanufacturing. His team develops novel approaches for large-area nanostructured materials, leveraging photothermal processing and brush block copolymers.

• Key Projects: Advanced Print and Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing Facility, Myrias Optics Inc. (metalenses commercialization), Metaoptics Research.

Awards: Includes Fellowships from the National Academy of Inventors (2021), American Physical Society (2012), and prestigious grants like the Packard Foundation and NSF CAREER awards. His contributions span academic and industrial partnerships, with technology transfer to commercial partners.

Lab/Teams: The Watkins Group includes graduate students, postdocs, and senior scientists. They utilize the UMass facility for roll-to-roll manufacturing, advancing technologies like Fano-resonant metamaterials and instant-healing elastomers.