My research program is devoted to precision chemical synthesis, characterization and application of functional hybrid nanomaterials, and their mesoscale assemblies.
I view recent discoveries in the exciting and unusual physical properties of both organic and inorganic nanoscale building blocks as only the beginning of the transformative era in science. I further seek to harness these chemically disparate materials synergistically into robust new technologies; however, they first require ‘blue prints’ – that is so say, exogenous agents – that contain instructions on how they will assemble, interface and ultimately function.
Given their well-defined and controllable chemistries and architectures, polymers and small molecules are uniquely suited for this task. As such, my synthetic efforts highlight the many opportunities for both organic and polymeric materials to forge diverse nano- and mesoscale constructs with enhanced capabilities relevant to energy and biology.
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Brett Helms did his Ph.D. in the Frechet group here at UC Berkeley, finishing back in 2006, and is now a staff scientist at the Molecular Foundry.
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