Dilip Gersappe

Studying statistical mechanics and computer modeling of complex chemical systems is at the heart of Dilip Gersappe’s research. He investigates the behavior of self-assembling polymeric and biopolymeric systems, and is developing theories for the properties of polymer blends and the behavior of polymers at surfaces and interfaces. In recent work, Gersappe has used mean field theories to determine the effect of confinement on the properties of thin film polymer blends. In other work, he has used molecular dynamics simulations to isolate the molecular mechanisms of failure in polymeric adhesives. Currently, he is developing parallel molecular dynamics techniques to study the strengthening mechanisms in polymer nanocomposites and to investigate the factors that control the permeability of polymeric membranes.