Polymer thin films can extend the lifespan of everyday products, such as food packaging for preserving freshness and protective coatings for electronics. Advancing their design to be even thinner and more durable could expand their applications further.

Kōnane Bay, an assistant professor based in the University of Colorado’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, recently received a prestigious  Award, a $675,000, five-year grant from the . The funding will advance her work in polymer characterization and support the development of high school and summer program curricula that integrate materials science and engineering lessons with traditional Indigenous knowledge.

“It feels great to be recognized by the polymer community for both the scientific and outreach work that we are doing,” Bay said.

The award will support Bay and her team at the Huli Materials Lab in investigating how the mechanical properties of polymer films evolve as their thickness is reduced to less than 100 nanometers—about a thousand times thinner than a human hair or cling wrap. Many industrial applications depend on the mechanical performance and stability of these films. The difficulty, Bay said, lies in the fact that when polymer materials are processed into thinner films, their mechanical strength changes in ways that are not yet fully understood.

Using a custom-built instrument, researchers in the Huli Lab will study how variables like thickness, temperature and surface interactions affect the strength of these films. The findings will provide valuable insights for designing more reliable adhesives, coatings and membranes while reducing material costs, energy use and environmental waste.

The project will fund a PhD student for five years to study the mechanics of ultrathin polymer films.

In addition to supporting research, the funding will enable the development of high school and summer program curricula that integrate materials science and engineering with traditional Indigenous knowledge. Growing up in Hawaiʻi, Bay draws from her heritage to shape this initiative, which aims to increase STEM recruitment and retention among women and historically excluded students, particularly Native Hawaiians, through curriculum development, outreach and mentoring to inspire the next generation of diverse STEM leaders.

“The curriculum will be designed to inspire high school students across Colorado and Hawaiʻi to explore and pursue advanced degrees and careers in STEM disciplines,” Bay said.

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