Jeffrey Self

🏆 Congrats to Prof. Zachariah Page (UT Austin), recipient of the 2026 Journal of Polymer Science Innovation Award!

His research uses light-driven polymer chemistry to advance soft robotics, wearable electronics & materials recovery. He will be honored at PMSE during ACS Fall.

#PMSE #PolymerScience

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Mark Kelly: "He's talked about sending troops into more cities, he's talked about invoking the Insurrection Act. You don't have to go too far back to his 1st administration when he went to his Sec Def & said, 'Can't we just shoot these protesters in the legs.' That is an example of an illegal order"

I knew it would take less than a day for a tiktok dj to make something.

At the end of the day, aren't we all just working hard to give our pets a better life?

Dual-Degradable and Reprocessable Hyperbranched Polymers from Chain Transfer Agent-Lipoic Acid Conjugate Hyperbranched polymers (HBPs) offer exceptional functionality, high solubility, and processability due to their dense branching and terminal group density, yet achieving degradable and recyclable HBPs...

Our recent work is now published in ACS Macromolecules!

Dual-Degradable and Reprocessable Hyperbranched Polymers from Chain Transfer Agent-Lipoic Acid Conjugate | Macromolecules pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

"ChatGPT is great for brainstorming!"

Actually we have a tool for that already! It's called thinking. We use our brain. It's called brainstorming! Clue is in the name.

Vat Photopolymerization of Supersoft Acrylamide-Based PDMS Bottlebrush Elastomers Bottlebrush polymers, defined as polymers densely grafted with polymer side chains, have gained much attention for their unique mechanical properties. When cross-linked into a bottlebrush polymer netw...

I'm excited to announce the Self lab has published our first paper! Kamyar Nikoo did an awesome job leading this project on the development of low viscosity resins leveraging acrylamide functionality to enable VPP printing of bottlebrush elastomers. Check it out: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Can seaweed decarbonize cement? 🌱🏗️
In our new study w/
@msftresearch.bsky.social, we show that #Ulva (a green seaweed) can be directly added to cement - no chemical preprocessing - cutting CO2 while preserving strength.
🔗 msft.it/6049SAKeJ
#Seaweed #Cement #AI #Sustainability #MaterialsScience #LCA

Beneath the blazing sun, Black Phoenix sows community - High Country News Climate change is creating a mental health crisis in Phoenix. A budding movement in the desert might solve it.

Climate change is creating a mental health crisis in Phoenix, especially for Black residents. A budding movement might help address both issues.

buff.ly/7zmPxTL

first Loo Lab paper is out now in @pubs.acs.org! here we show how polymer blends can tune Li ion solvation site and enhance ion transport

read it here: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

In the spirit of @sorheology.bsky.social and “Everything Flows”, look at these beautiful “streamlines” of shale around a rock.

Taken at Watkins Glen State Park

Alright, this is an awesome experiment - complexation, solubility, indicator acid/base, it’s got everything!! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

All of this is written on my blog, Chemjobber: chemjobber.blogspot.com/2025/04/pred...

Multiple milestones for the Khoury Lab this week for our undergrads! Marie Byrne defended her honors thesis, and Rohan Bulusu was recognized as the ASU nominee for the ACS Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry.

It was amazing having a fellow alumni Dr. Fauci and his wife Dr. Grady stop by the lab to talk wine chemistry and hear about the work my students are doing. Thank you for being on campus and sharing yourself with our entire community

Just dropped a new video + blog post with Ariel for RSC Applied Polymers, and we had a blast making it! 🧪✨ We went full infomercial mode to show off how these dynamic foams achieve next-level expansion & mechanical properties: tinyurl.com/balloondogfoams
@ronsmaldone.bsky.social

Our colleague Tomislav Friscic in full flow for his inaugural lecture at @uobchemistry.bsky.social. A fantastic evening hearing about his journey as a chemist.

A new chiral macrocycle which shows three-way switching of its chiroptical properties out in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social Work by @denishartmann.bsky.social in TAB Lab & fantastic collaborators at Durham University and @zwijcompchem.bsky.social at @uclchemistry.bsky.social doi.org/10.1002/anie...

I’m very excited to finally share the results of a passion project that has been on my mind for nearly a decade. You can find the pre-print below, but what follows is the saga of how this project came to be:

Q&A: How a UW teaching professor adds the context behind the science in her chemical engineering courses Alex Prybutok, UW assistant teaching professor of chemical engineering, studies anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in engineering education.

To celebrate the first day of winter quarter, I talked with @alexprybutok.bsky.social, assistant teaching professor of ChemE, about her journey to becoming a teaching professor and her work to explain the context behind the science in her classes.
Story: www.washington.edu/news/2025/01...

3D Printable Polymer Foams with Tunable Expansion and Mechanical Properties Enabled by Catalyst-Free Dynamic Covalent Chemistry Thermoset foams are some of the most common polymer materials in our lives. Despite their prevalence, they are notoriously difficult to form into complex shapes and finding a balance between mechanica...

Using my first post here to say…I’m on my way… to better foams, sweet foams! 🎸 Our latest preprint showcases a Motley Crue of improved properties—enhanced expansion and mechanical strength in 3D-printed foams. Check it out: chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
@ronsmaldone.bsky.social

Snapshot from a page with "CHE 211 - [Extra Credit] for Exam 2" written at the top and a bulbous frog character drawn below with a text bubble saying "i did it".

If this fella can do it, we all can

Stenhouse Salts: Visible Light Photoswitches for Protic Environments Designing photoswitches that have large structural changes, are visible-light responsive, and are compatible with water is a major challenge for moving toward applications in biological systems. Despite the potential for Stenhouse salts to be a water-compatible counterpart to the popular DASA photoswitches, there has not yet been any major investigation into their properties as a photoswitch. Here, we report a series of aniline-based Stenhouse salt (AnSten) photoswitches with electron donating and withdrawing groups. AnSten photoswitches reversibly switch from a visible light absorbing isomer to a visible light transparent isomer upon irradiation with green light. The dark equilibrium and switching kinetics are dependent on the electronics of the aniline. These molecules switch reversibly in common protic solvents including water and hydrogels. Stenhouse salts show significant potential as a visible light active, water compatible, negative photochromic, T-type photoswitch with a large structural change.

Great paper from the Peterson lab--developing new photoswitches for protic solvents.

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Window sill in an office with a series of potted plants and a newly installed elevated wooden shelf with more potted plants resting on top.

I'm floored by this phenomenal window shelf a student made for my office (the eponymous "Self Shelf")--effectively doubling my garden space!

Took my class on a field trip to North America's largest metals/glass/plastic materials recovery facility. Check out half a days worth of NYC recycling in this pile! Material can come in by truck or by barge. Amazing visit. Thanks to Princeton's ProCES program for the support!

We're hiring a postdoctoral researcher to join the Long lab and Self Lab in our SM3 Center at ASU. Experience in polymers, synthesis, and/or photochemistry is desired.

More information here: labs.engineering.asu.edu/self/opportu...

Please retweet and share! #chempostdoc

Me as a grad student: why won’t people reply to my emails

Me as a professor: please dear god do not reply to my emails