Rachel A. Segalman is an American chemical engineer and materials scientist known for her research on the self-assembly and properties of functional polymers. She currently serves as the Edward Noble Kramer Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where she also holds an appointment in the Department of Materials.
Education and Career Segalman earned her Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy in chemical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2002, conducting research under the supervision of Edward J. Kramer. Following her doctoral studies, she performed postdoctoral research at the Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France.
In 2004, Segalman joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, and became a Faculty Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She remained at Berkeley until 2014, after which she returned to UCSB to join the faculty and later assume leadership roles within the College of Engineering.
Research and Contributions Segalman’s research focuses on the physics and chemistry of polymers, with an emphasis on how molecular structure dictates the macroscopic properties of materials. Her work often involves block copolymers, ion-conducting polymers, and organic thermoelectrics. A significant portion of her research explores the hierarchical self-assembly of these materials to create functional nanostructures for energy applications, such as solar cells, batteries, and thermoelectric generators.
Her laboratory has contributed to the development of design rules for semiconducting polymers and the understanding of how thermal and electrical transport occur in disordered molecular systems.
Awards and Honors Segalman has received numerous professional accolades for her contributions to chemical engineering and polymer science. In 2022, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for her work on the "hierarchical self-assembly of functional polymers and their use in energy applications." She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society (APS).
Other notable awards include:
- The John H. Dillon Medal from the American Physical Society (2012)
- The Allan P. Colburn Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
- The Herman F. Mark Young Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS)
- The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
