Anna Christina Balazs, PhD

Dr. Anna Balazs is the John A. Swanson Chair in Engineering at the Swanson School of Engineering and a Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in Pitt’s Department of Chemistry. Dr. Balazs received a MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and went on to earn her PhD from the same university.  Her postdoctoral research was completed at Brandeis University, MIT, and the University of Massachusetts.  She has also held the position of visiting professor at the Scripps Research Institute in Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, and Oxford University in the United Kingdom. The research interests of Dr. Balazs center on statistical, mechanical, and computer modeling of complex chemical systems and developing theories for the properties of polymer blends and the behavior of polymers at surfaces and interfaces. Specifically, ongoing projects involve:

• Predicting the phase behavior of polymer/clay nanocomposites
• Determining the kinetic behavior of binary mixtures containing solid particles
• Designing polymeric inhibitors to prevent cell-virus contact
• Tailoring the interactions between polymer-coated colloids
• Promoting adhesion at polymeric interfaces
• Designing patterned polymer films
• Investigating the tribological behavior of polymer interfaces

For additional information on these and other research projects, please view her research group’s webpage or the publications page or see:

• Predicting Copolymer/Nanoparticle Composite Morphology
• Determining Dynamic Behavior of Polymer/Particle Mixtures

Dr. Balazs is a member of the Advisory Board of the Materials Council for Materials Sciences and Engineering Division of the Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences.  She is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of Langmuir, Soft Matter, and Polymer Reviews. For her research achievements, Dr. Balazs has received much recognition.  Her most recent awards include:

• American Physical Society Polymer Physics Prize (2016)
• Royal Society of Chemistry S F Boys-A Rahman Award (2015)
• Greater Pittsburgh Women Chemists Committee Award for Excellence in the Chemical Sciences (2014)
• ACS Langmuir Lecture Award (2014)
• Fellow, Materials Research Society (2014)
• Mines Medal, South Dakota School of Mines (2013)
• Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (2010)