Alumni Profiles

Christopher Balzer

  • Program Years: 2019-2023
  • Academic Institution: California Institute of Technology
  • Field of Study: Chemical Engineering
  • Academic Advisor: Zhen-Gang Wang
  • Practicum(s):
    Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico (2021)
  • Degree(s):
    PhD, Chemical Engineering, Caltech, 2023
    MS, Chemical Engineering, Caltech, 2021
    M.Phil. Advanced Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge, 2018
    B.S. Chemical Engineering, Arizona State University, 2017

Current Status

Publications

C. Balzer, Z.-G. Wang, Electroresponse of Weak Polyelectrolyte Brushes, The European Physical Journal E 46 (9), 82 (2023)

S. Varner, C. Balzer, Z.-G. Wang, Entropic Origin of Ionic Interactions in Polar Solvents, J. Chem. Phys. B., 127, 4328-4337 (2023)

C. Balzer, A. L. Frischknecht, Explicit Polarization in Coarse-Grained Simulations of Ionomer Melts, Macromolecules, 55, 9980-9989 (2022)

C. Balzer, P. Zhang, Z.-G. Wang, Wetting Behavior of Polyelectrolyte Complex Coacervates on Solid Surface, Soft Matter, 18, 6326-6339 (2022)

D. Bruch, C. Balzer, Z.-G. Wang, Thermodynamics of electrolyte solutions near charged surfaces: Constant surface charge vs constant surface potential, J. Chem. Phys., 156, 174704 (2022)

A. S. Ylitalo, C. Balzer, P. Zhang, Z.-G. Wang, Electrostatic Correlations and Temperature-Dependent Dielectric Constant Can Model LCST in Polyelectrolyte Complex Coacervation, Macromolecules, 54 (24), 11326-11337 (2021)

C. Balzer, L. Qing, Z.-G. Wang, Preferential Ion Adsorption in Blue Energy Applications, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 9 (28), 9230-9239 (2021)

C. Balzer, J. Jiang, R. Marson, V. V. Ginzburg, Z.-G. Wang, Nonelectrostatic Adsorption of Polyelectrolytes and Mediated Interactions between Solid Surfaces, Langmuir, 37 (18), 5483-5493 (2021)

C. Balzer, R. Oktavian, M. Zandi, D. Fairen-Jimenez, P.Z. Moghadam, Wiz: A Web-Based Tool for Interactive Visualization of Big Data, Patterns, 1 (8), 100107 (2020)

C. Balzer, M.R. Armstrong, B. Shan, Y. Huang, J. Liu, and B. Mu, Modeling Nanoparticle Dispersion in Electrospun Nanofibers, Langmuir, 34 (4), 1340-1346 (2018)

M.R. Armstrong. C.J. Balzer, B. Shan and B. Mu, Influence of particle size and loading on particle accessibility in electrospun poly(ethylene oxide) and ZIF-8 composite fibers: experiments and theory, Langmuir, 33 (36), 9066-9072 (2017)

C.J. Balzer, M.R. Armstrong, B. Shan and B. Mu. Composite MOF Mixture as Volatile Organic Compound Sensor - A New Approach to LMOF Sensors. Mater Lett., 190, 33-36 (2017)

M.R. Armstrong, S. Senthilnathan, C.J. Balzer, B. Shan and B. Mu, Particle size studies to reveal crystallization mechanisms of the metal organic framework HKUST-1 during sonochemical synthesis. Ultrason Sonochem., 34, 365-370 (2017)

M.R. Armstrong, K. Y. Arredondo, C.-Y. Liu, J. E. Stevens, A. Mayhob, B. Shan, S. Senthilnathan, C.J. Balzer, and B. Mu, UiO-66 MOF and Poly(Vinyl Cinnamate) Nanofiber Composite Membranes Synthesized By A Facile 3 Stage Process. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 54 (49), 12386-12392 (2015)

Awards

Frank J. Padden Jr. Award Finalist, 2023

DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, 2019

Jacobs Translational Medicine Fellowship, 2018

Churchill Scholarship, 2017

NSF GFRP Honorable Mention, 2017

Goldwater Scholarship, 2016

Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) Scholar, 2016