Marina Ruths

Professor Marina Ruths holds a faculty position at the Kennedy College of Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, specializing in interfacial and surface forces, nanotribology, and frictional behavior of polymers and self-assembled monolayers. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and earlier degrees in Physical Chemistry from Åbo Akademi University, Finland.

Her research focuses on

• Adhesion and friction in nanoscale systems
• Forces in confined polymer and biopolymer layers
• Surface roughness effects on friction
• Instrumentation development for surface force measurements
• Applications in biomimetic coatings and lubrication

Recent publications highlight trends in

• Polyelectrolyte brush conformational dynamics
• Ion-specific effects on interfacial properties
• Advanced surface patterning for tribological applications
• Interfacial rheology of molecularly thin films
• Role of chain architecture in fatty acid friction
• Characterization of bioinspired polymer textures

Scientific recognition includes

• NSF CAREER Award (2007)
• US-Japan Nanotechnology Exchange (2006)
• Max Planck and Humboldt fellowships
• ASLA-Fulbright and Neste Oy Foundation grants

She has secured multiple NSF grants for projects such as

• Mechanistic studies of CO2-to-fuel conversion (2012)
• Adhesion/friction multi-asperity research (2007)
• Textured surface tribology (2015)