Ralm G. Ricarte

Ralm G. Ricarte serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the Florida A&M University - Florida State University College of Engineering, where he directs the Ricarte Lab focused on functional polymer materials for energy, separations, and biomedical applications.

His academic journey includes:

• B.S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (2011)
• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (2016)
• Marie Curie and PRESTIGE Postdoctoral Fellowship, ESPCI Paris (2017-2019)

Ricarte's research explores vitrimer networks and polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA), investigating how chemical functionality governs material properties through advanced techniques like cryogenic electron microscopy, scattering methods, and rheology. His lab develops vitrimer gels for battery electrolytes and separations membranes while studying drug encapsulation mechanisms for cancer therapeutics and nucleic acids.

Analysis of his 2023-2025 publications reveals dominant themes in polybutadiene vitrimer rheology, dynamic covalent chemistry effects on network properties, and precision control of drug encapsulation during PISA - demonstrating convergence of fundamental polymer physics with biomedical applications.

Key recognitions include:

• Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship
• PRESTIGE Postdoctoral Fellowship
• NSF CAREER Award (2022) for vitrimer gel research

He actively mentors four Ph.D. candidates and multiple undergraduates, with research supported by his NSF CAREER grant and lab operations emphasizing scalable synthesis and advanced characterization. Current projects target structure-property relationships in dynamic networks for next-generation materials.

The Ricarte Lab maintains state-of-the-art facilities within the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering for polymer synthesis and characterization, collaborating across disciplines to translate fundamental discoveries into applications for energy storage and biomedicine.