LaShanda Korley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
LaShanda Teresa James Korley
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| Alma mater | Georgia Tech Clark Atlanta University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Delaware Case Western Reserve University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | PEO-containing Copolymers as Polyurethane Soft Segments in the Development of High Performance Materials (2005) |
| Doctoral advisor | Paula T. Hammond |
LaShanda Teresa James Korley is a top professor of Materials Science at the University of Delaware. She is an expert in areas like soft matter, polymers, and nature-inspired materials.
Soft matter includes things like gels, liquids, and plastics. Polymers are large molecules made of many repeating units, like the ones in plastics. Nature-inspired materials are designed using ideas from nature, like how a spider makes silk.
Professor Korley also works on big problems like plastic pollution. She develops new ways to stop plastic waste from ending up in landfills and oceans. She does this by upcycling plastic waste. Upcycling means turning old plastic into new, more valuable products.
She leads important research centers such as the Center for Plastics Innovation. She also leads the Center for Research in Soft Matter and Polymers and the Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials (CHARM). In 2019, she won the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award. This award recognized her excellent research.
Early Life and Education
LaShanda Korley knew she wanted to teach from a young age. When she was six, she would give her grandmother tests she made herself. She even taught classes using a toy blackboard.
She first studied chemistry at Clark Atlanta University. She earned her degree there in 1998. The next year, in 1999, she got her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech. She chose chemical engineering because she loved physics, chemistry, and math.
After her bachelor's degree, Korley went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, she studied polymers for her doctorate degree. She worked with Professor Paula T. Hammond on materials called polyurethanes. She earned her doctorate in 2005. After that, she joined Cornell University as a special research fellow.
Research and Career
From 2007, Professor Korley worked at Case Western Reserve University. She was a professor in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering. Her research focused on biomimicry. This means designing new materials by copying ideas from nature.
She studied materials that change shape with moisture, like some plants do. She also worked on special gels and materials made from tiny protein parts. At Case Western Reserve University, her lab was called M-cubed. This stood for "mechanically enhanced, multi-functional materials."
She led a National Science Foundation center focused on layered polymers. In 2011, she was chosen for a special engineering symposium. There, she worked with engineers from the United Kingdom and China. In 2015, she returned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a visiting scholar. At MIT, she researched 3D printed structures that could be changed using light. She also found ways to make polymers stronger by carefully mixing their parts.
In 2018, Korley became a Distinguished Associate Professor at the University of Delaware. She is a main researcher for a big international project there. She has studied the structure of the sea cucumber, caddisfly silk, and the extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix is like the "glue" that holds cells together in living things. She uses these natural designs to create new materials. These materials can be used for soft robots, food packaging, and coatings that resist scratches.
In 2020, she was chosen to be a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). This is a very high honor for engineers in medicine and biology.
Professor Korley helps lead the Future Faculty Workshop at the University of Delaware. She also co-directs the Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials. This center guides basic research on new materials. In 2021, she started working with Thomas Epps III. They are finding new ways to upcycle plastics into valuable, high-performance materials.
In January 2023, Professor Korley was chosen as a U.S. Science Envoy. As an envoy, she works with other countries to improve science partnerships. She helps build stronger relationships between the United States and other nations through science.
Awards
- 2023 Fellow of the American Chemical Society
- 2022 Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 2020 New Castle County Chamber of Commerce
- 2020 American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellow
- 2019 NOBCChE Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award
- 2011 DuPont Young Professor
Images for kids
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Professor LaShanda Korley
See also
In Spanish: LaShanda Korley para niños
