Graham Collier, originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, received his BS in chemistry in 2011 from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Upon graduation, Collier enrolled in the graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and studied porphyrin chromophores under the direction of Michael Walter. After graduating in 2013, Collier enrolled in the chemistry doctoral program at UT with a concentration in polymer chemistry.Collier’s dissertation entailed studying structure-property relationships of purine-based polymers and chromophores under the guidance of Mike Kilbey. Collier received his PhD in 2017 and began his position as postdoctoral research associate at Georgia Tech studying conjugated polymers for electrochromic under the mentorship of John Reynolds. Collier joined the faculty of Kennesaw State University as a tenure-track assistant professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in fall of 2020.
Research in the Collier Group resides at the interface of organic, polymer, and materials chemistry. “We are interested in utilizing precise monomer synthesis to incorporate functional building blocks into polymeric materials with targeted macromolecular properties,” said Collier. “Specific interests include synthesis and characterization of conjugated polymer and molecule systems to understand how structure influences optical and electrochemical properties.”
Research in the Collier Research Group at KSU will involve the synthesis and characterization of organic molecules and polymers that find applicability in thin film electronics. The group will work to develop new polymers and molecules by manipulating their fundamental chemical structure to obtain targeted properties.