Daniel Maksuta

Title: IB PhD Student, Biomimicry Fellow
Dept/Program: Polymer Science
Email: ddm27@zips.uakron.edu

Biography

My name is Daniel Maksuta, and I have the patience to figure out how all of the fields of science work together to solve a single problem.

I graduated from The University of Akron with a BS in Chemistry-Polymer. During my undergrad career, I did research in theoretical physics studying the glass transition, as well as research in bioinspired adhesives.

My current research, with Dr. Ali Dhinojwala (advisor, Polymer Science), is a continuation of my undergrad research in adhesion. My research focuses on understanding natural adhesive systems and modeling the results in order to elucidate the mechanism for specific types of adhesion (dry, wet, reversible, permanent, etc.). My scientific interests are not limited to the latter, rather I enjoy answering interesting questions.

The reason that I choose the IB: Biomimicry PhD program is because biomimicry is at the interface of essentially all fields of science. This offers a robust foundation for inspired research as well as novel solutions to existing problems—in other words: I look to nature for ideas.

Education

2015: BS Chemistry, University of Akron