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Reika Katsumata is an assistant professor in Polymer Science and Engineering Department at UMass Amherst since 2018. After obtaining her B.E. and M.E. degrees in Organic and Polymeric Materials at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Reika made a big move to the States, where she earned Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining UMass, she completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Katsumata Group’s overarching research goal is to design extremely confined soft/hard interfaces, focusing on dynamics, wettability, and mechanics with a novel processing method of polymer-assisted rapid thermal annealing. She has been awarded the ACS petroleum research fund Doctoral New Investigator Grant (2019), NSF CAREER Award (2021), 3M Non-Tenure Faculty Award (2022), Japan Science and Technology Agency PRESTO Award (2022), AFOSR Young Investigator Award (2023), and ACS PMSE Early Stage Investigator Award (2023). |
Read Reika’s Emerging Investigator article: Recent advances and emerging opportunities in rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of polymers. DOI: 10.1039/D2ME00283C
This article will be free to access for all until September 10th 2023! Read the interview with Reika below;
- How do you feel about MSDE as a place to publish research on this topic?
The interdisciplinary readership of MSDE has been the ideal audience for the topic of polymer-assisted rapid thermal annealing (RTA).
2. What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?As summarized in this review paper, I am overwhelmingly excited to be a part of the adventure in this new research field!
3. In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?How does the molecular structure influence the degradation behaviors of polymers under high heating rates?4. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?Pursue projects you are genuinely passionate about, rather than following hot topics.Follow Reika on twitter! @Katsumata_R_
