Gund Affiliate, Associate Professor of Chemistry; Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester

Michael Ruggiero is a chemist who uses an array of analytical tool to understand how atomic-level dynamics influence the bulk physical properties of materials. Michael's research is wide-ranging, but one goal is to discover the microscopic mechanisms behind important ecological issues such as toxic chemical separation and breakdown mechanisms of microplastic pollutants.

Michael is internationally recognized for his work with low-frequency vibrational spectroscopy and computational simulations to understand the behavior of materials. He was named to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 class, received an early-career award from the international Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz) society in 2019, and was named one of the Best Users of the ARCHER Supercomputer in 2017. He currently has funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Chemical Society (ACS).  

Publications

Selected

  • Hoshina, Hiromichi, Takuro Kanemura, and Michael T. Ruggiero. "Exploring the Dynamics of Bound Water in Nylon Polymers with Terahertz Spectroscopy." The Journal of Physical Chemistry B (2019): https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b10058
  • Zhang, Wei, et al. "Probing the Mechanochemistry of Metal–Organic Frameworks with Low-Frequency Vibrational Spectroscopy." The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 122.48 (2018): 27442-27450. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b08334
  • Ruggiero, Michael T., et al. "Electronic Structure, Electron-Phonon Coupling, and Charge Transport in Crystalline Rubrene Under Mechanical Strain." The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 123.26 (2019): 15897-15907. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b01902
  • Schweicher, Guillaume, et al. "Chasing the “killer” phonon mode for the rational design of low‐disorder, high‐mobility molecular semiconductors." Advanced Materials 31.43 (2019): 1902407. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adma.201902407
  • Kissi, Eric Ofosu, et al. "Characterising glass transition temperatures and glass dynamics in mesoporous silica-based amorphous drugs." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 21.35 (2019): 19686-19694. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/cp/c9cp01764j/unauth#!divAbstract

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Vibrational spectroscopy, computational modelling, advanced materials, toxic chemical removal, microplastic degradation

Education

  • PhD, Physical Chemistry, Syracuse University
  • MPhil, Physical Chemistry, Syracuse University
  • BS, Chemistry, State University of New York: College at Geneseo

Contact

Email:

michael.ruggiero@rochester.edu

Website(s):
  1. LinkedIn
  2. Google Scholar
  3. ResearchGate
  4. Personal Website

Courses Taught