About
Dr. Laura (Ellie) Porath received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Chicago in 2017. She then pursued a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with Professor Chris Evans, where she specialized in the rheology of vitrimers, or dynamic covalent polymer networks. In Fall of 2022, she began a postdoctoral position in the lab of Professor Jan Vermant at ETH in Zurich to study the rheological effect of active particles on soft viscoelastic gel environments. She also collaborated with Dr. Eleonora Secchi on the study of bacterial biofilms as soft materials, including their rheological characterization. Ellie currently holds a postdoctoral position at the ESPCI in Paris in collaboration with L’Oréal where she designs chemically relevant artificial skin for better understanding the sensation of spreading on micrometric rough surfaces.
Education and Experience
ESPCI Paris + L'Oreal
Soft Materials Science and Engineering
(Science et Ingenierie de la Matiere Molle)
Postdoctoral Researcher
Development of an artificial skin substrate with accurate texture to human skin and tunable hydrophobicity for understanding the sensation of touch
ETH Zurich
Soft Materials Laboratory
Postdoctoral Researcher
Active particle motion was studied in soft hydrogels to mimic the swimming of bacteria in mucosal fluids.
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
Evans Research Group - Dynamic and Functional Polymers
Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering
The viscoelastic properties of vitrimers (dynamic self-healing polymer networks) were studied systematically and novel applications were found.
The University of Chicago
Bacherlors Degree in Physics
Research experiences at Argonne National Lab and IBM shaped my interest in materials but from a physics perspective.
Awards and Recognition
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Racheff-Intel Award, University of Illinois
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For excellent graduate research in UIUC Department of Materials Science and Engineering
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Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship, University of Illinois
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Selected to participate in a year-long course to prepare students for engineering faculty positions
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Outstanding Materials Science Student Award
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Awarded by the University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering
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Teaching Assistants Ranked as Excellent by Their Students
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Achieved a rank of “outstanding” (4.8/5) based on student responses
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