Dr. Adam Nolte’s areas of expertise include materials science and engineering, polymers, soft matter, thin films and responsive materials. He is involved in a research project exploring the processing of ultrathin polymer coatings. Dr. Nolte also is working with a multidisciplinary team of students on a two-year National Science Foundation-sponsored research project to develop new early breast cancer detection techniques. Winner of the 2020 Board of Trustees Outstanding Scholar Award, Dr. Nolte previously worked for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Tyco Healthcare/Mallinckrodt, and GlaxoSmithKline, and received a National Research Center postdoctoral fellowship.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007
  • BS, University of Missouri-Rolla, 2001

Awards & Honors

2020 - Board of Trustees Outstanding Scholar Award, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Publications & Presentations

  • Cook, K. T., Tettey, K. E., Bunch, R. M., Lee, D., and Nolte, A. J., “One-Step Index-Tunable Antireflection Coatings from Aggregated Silica Nanoparticles,” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 4, American Chemical Society,  6,426-6,431, 2012
  • Prosser, J. H., Brugarolas, T., Lee, S., Nolte, A.J., and Lee, D., “Avoiding Cracks in Nanoparticle Films,” Nano Letters 12, 5,287-5,291, 2012
  • Holder, K. M., Priolo, M. A., Secrist, K. E., Greenlee, S. M., Nolte, A. J., and Grunlan, J. C., “Humidity-Responsive Gas Barrier of Hydrogen-Bonded Polymer-Clay Multilayer Thin Films,” Journal of Physical Chemistry C 116, 19,851-19,856, 2012
  • Elban, W. L., Howarter, J. A., Richardson, M. C., Stutzman, P. E., Forster, A. M., Nolte, A. J., and Holmes, G. A., “Influence of Solvent Washing on Interlayer Structure of Alkylammonium Montmorillonites,” Applied Clay Science 61, 29-36, 2012
  • Secrist, K. E. and Nolte, A. J., “Humidity Swelling/Deswelling Hysteresis in a Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Film,” Macromolecules 44, 2,859-2,865, 2011

Research Experiences

  • Polymer thin films and interfaces
  • Layer-by-layer assembly
  • Adhesion at complex interfaces
  • Optical and mechanical properties of nanostructured films

Teaching Interests

  • Thermodynamics
  • Transport phenomena
  • Materials science and nanomaterials
  • Safety, health and loss prevention
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