Skip to main content

Stefan Zauscher

Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
3385 Fciemas Building, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708-0300
3385 Fciemas Building, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


My research lies at the intersection of surface and colloid science, polymer materials engineering, and biointerface science, with four central areas of focus: 1. Fabrication, manipulation and characterization of stimulus-responsive biomolecular and bio-inspired polymeric nanostructures on surfaces; 2. Nanotechnology of soft-wet materials and hybrid biological/non-biological microdevices; 3. Receptor-ligand interactions relevant to the diagnostics of infectious diseases; 4. Friction of soft-wet materials, specifically the role of glycoproteins on friction in diarthroidal joints. These four broad lines of inquiry deal with fundamental behaviors of soft-wet materials on surfaces and interfaces. The design and fabrication of these interfaces using "smart" polymeric and biomolecular nanostructures, and the characterization of the resulting structures, are critically important for the development of biomolecular sensors and devices and for bioinspired materials. Key approaches and tools I use in my research are: bottom-up organization on the molecular scale, through self-assembly, in-situ polymerization, and manipulation of intermolecular interactions; topdown fabrication, through scanning probe nanolithography; stimulus-responsive polymers; molecular recognition; and new approaches to sensing and manipulation. This research supports Duke's Pratt School of Engineering strategic initiative to expand research in soft-wet Materials Science.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 2012 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering
Director of the Duke Materials Initiative · 2019 - Present Pratt School of Engineering
Director of Graduate Studies in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 2025 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor of Biomedical Engineering · 2024 - Present Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor of Chemistry · 2025 - Present Chemistry, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published February 25, 2025
Three Engineering Projects to Build Greener Materials
Published February 28, 2023
Measuring the Lightest Touch Your Body Responds To
Published February 1, 2021
QATCH

View All News

Recent Publications


Pushing AFM to the Boundaries: Interphase Mechanical Property Measurements near a Rigid Body

Journal Article Macromolecules · January 28, 2025 Understanding the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposite materials is essential for industrial use. Particularly, the determination of the polymer modulus at the nanofiller-polymer interphase is important for optimizing the interfacial mechanical p ... Full text Cite

BOTTS: broadband optimized time-temperature superposition for vastly accelerated viscoelastic data acquisition.

Journal Article Soft matter · October 2024 Modern materials design strategies take advantage of the increasing amount of materials property data available and increasingly complex algorithms to take advantage of those data. However, viscoelastic materials resist this trend towards increased data ra ... Full text Cite

Grafting of cationic molecules to hyaluronic acid improves adsorption and cartilage lubrication.

Journal Article Biomater Sci · September 10, 2024 Synovial fluid lubricates articular joints by forming a hydrated layer between the cartilage surfaces. In degenerative joint diseases like osteoarthritis (OA), the synovial fluid is compromised, which leads to less effective innate lubrication and exacerba ... Full text Link to item Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants


Molecular engineering of HA-based lubricants for articular cartilage

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases · 2023 - 2028

University Training Program in Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1994 - 2027

Hummink NAZCA High-Precision Capillary Flow Printer

EquipmentMinor User · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2026

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


University of Wisconsin, Madison · 1999 Ph.D.
Oregon State University · 1992 M.S.