Research Assistant Professor, Drexel University, 2021-2023
Postdoctoral Fellow, Drexel University, 2018-2021 (Yury Gogotsi)
Ph.D. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2013-2018 (Alexander Mukasyan)
B.S.E. Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, 2009-2013
Biography
Christopher Shuck received his bachelors degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Princeton University, where he also received a certificate in Materials Science and Engineering Biology. At University of Notre Dame, he completed his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with Alexander Mukasyan. His research focused on controlling solid-state reactivity by modification and understanding of the reactant nanostructure. His work contributed to fundamental studies related to shockwave processing of advanced reactive materials. During his Ph.D. studies, he received a Fulbright grant to work in Moscow and Chernogolovka in Russia where he collaborated with scientists to develop novel UHTC materials using advanced synthesis methods. Additionally, he worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, collaborating with scientists on novel energetic structures.
During his postdoctoral studies and as a research assistant processor, Christopher Shuck worked closely with Yury Gogotsi to develop novel MAX phases and MXenes. He discovered the first member of the M5AX4 and M5X4Tx MXene, resulting in the definition of both materials being changed, in addition to pioneering work on solid-solution MXenes. He also focused on scalability of MXene synthesis, demonstrating >kg batch sizes of the 2D material. In addition to fundamental synthesis work, he has collaborated with a variety of scientists to apply MXenes to energy storage, electromagnetic interference shielding, biomedicine, catalysis, among others.
Future Research
Research in the Shuck lab will focus on controlling kinetic processes to produce new, metastable materials (such as 2D MXenes, 0D ceramics/intermetallics, and bulk metastable refractory phases) with properties that are not possible with conventional means. In this group, we will use many advanced in-situ techniques, including synchrotrons, XRD, TEM, and others. We will aim to study fundamental kinetic and thermodynamic processes, then utilize this knowledge to encourage the system to produce materials that would normally not form with properties that exceed current possibilities. Targeted applications will include extreme environments, such as hypersonics, or other applications where no existing materials can be used. Three examples of projects include:
1) Synthesis of Novel MXenes.
2) Control of Solid-State Combustion Kinetics.
3) Solution Combustion Synthesis of Metastable Materials.
The Shuck group is actively seeking motivated students and researchers to join the group. We are especially interested in highly motivated undergraduate students to join the group. Prior undergraduate students who have worked with Dr. Shuck have published first author articles and been invited to give oral presentations at international conferences, won awards such as the Barry Goldwater Fellowship and NSF GRFP, among others. Members of the team who join will have the opportunity to learn a wide variety of experimental approaches and characterization techniques, for both fundamental and applied research in a highly collaborative environment. Students interested in joining the Shuck lab should reach out directly at
