Dean Waldow, Ph.D.

Professor of Chemistry

he/him/his

Dean Waldow

Phone: 253-535-7533

Email: waldowda@plu.edu

Office Location: Rieke Science Center - 243

Office Hours: (On Campus) Mon: 8:00 am - 9:00 am (On Campus) Thu: 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm (On Campus) Fri: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm (Off Campus) Mon - Fri: By Appointment

Website: http://www.plu.edu/chemistry/waldow/

Employed: 27 Years

  • Professional
  • Biography
  • Video

Education

  • NRC-NIST Post-doctoral Award, Polymers Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1989-1991
  • Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, 1989
  • B.A., Chemistry, Math, and Physics, Augustana College, 1984

Areas of Emphasis or Expertise

  • Solid Polymer Electrolytes for Battery Applications
  • Polymer physics
  • Scattering using light, X-Rays, and Neutrons
  • Polymer Blends
  • Block Copolymers
  • Nanomorphology
  • Polymer Synthesis and Characterization
  • Atomic Force Microscopy

Responsibilities

CHEM 115 – General Chemistry I Lab
CHEM 116 – General Chemistry II
CHEM 341 – Physical Chemistry I
CHEM 343 – Physical Chemistry Lab I
CHEM 342 – Physical Chemistry II
CHEM 344 – Physical Chemistry Lab II
CHEM 410 – Intro to Research
CHEM 420 – Instrumental Analysis (also previous version: CHEM 435)
CHEM 456 – Polymers and Biopolymers
CHEM 499 – Capstone: Seminar (also previous versions: CHEM 460 and CHEM 490)

Professional Memberships/Organizations

Biography

Application of Ring Opening Metathesis Polymermization to Polymer Battery Electrolytes and other membranes

Use of macro and microphase separation techniques in energy related materials

Statics and kinetics of phase separation in multi-component polymer blends both in bulk and as thin films

Physical characterization technique include:

  • light scattering
  • optical and atomic force microscopy
  • neutron scattering
  • Monte Carlo techniques

Use of metathesis, anionic, and controlled radical synthetic techniques to produce new materials for macro and microphase separation applications

Polymer/structure relationships studied via spin-lattice relaxation measurements of local segmental dynamics in polymers

Promoting the teaching and learning of research in an undergraduate setting via

  • incorporation of research activities in traditional courses
  • development of Internet resources for undergraduate research
  • an active and externally funded local undergraduate research program

Incorporation of information technology in lecture and laboratory settings

Summer Research: Building Better Batteries