Richard A. Register

Richard A. Register is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University and serves as Director of the Princeton Materials Institute. He is affiliated with the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment as an executive committee member and associated faculty.

• Education: Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (1989, University of Wisconsin-Madison); M.S. in Chemical Engineering Practice (1985), S.B. in Chemical Engineering (1984), and S.B. in Chemistry (1983) from MIT

Research Interests: Focuses on materials synthesis, processing, and properties of polymers, particularly multi-phase polymeric systems like block, gradient, and random copolymers. His work bridges fundamental polymer physics with applications in energy, environment, and scalable nanofabrication.

Selected Research Trends: Recent publications highlight block copolymers for biobutanol recovery, melt-processing of polyolefin multiblock copolymers, shear-induced orientation of nanocylinders, crystallization modes in microdomains, and lithographic applications for dense nanoscale arrays.

• Scientific Awards: Inaugural Distinguished Faculty Service Award (2025), Distinguished Teacher Award (2018), Fellowships in AIChE (2014), ACS (2012), and APS (2001), Graduate Mentoring Award (2008), and early-career honors from NSF (1992) and Unilever (1992)

Advising and Grants: Mentors graduate students including Asmita Ghosh and Katherine Gunter. Leads projects funded by DOE on recyclable plastic packaging and collaborates across disciplines via Princeton's Materials Institute and Andlinger Center.

Labs and Teams: Heads the Polymer Research Laboratory at Princeton, overseeing a team of graduate students and postdocs. His lab integrates synthesis, structural characterization (SAXS, WAXS, SEM, TEM, AFM), and property measurements to advance polymeric materials.