Daniel Hammer
Dan applies his research in nanometric soft matter to his studies in biology. Working with colleagues, he has forged polymersomes, membranes made of block copolymers, which are soft, vesicle-like nanoparticles for drug delivery and imaging. Dan has also developed a simulation method of adhesion of receptor-coated nanoparticles to surfaces. The method, Brownian Adhesive Dynamics, once applied to viral binding to cell surfaces, is now being used to understand selectivity and targeting in biological applications of nanoparticles. Currently, he is on the Board of Directors of the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia, having served as President for four years (2014-2017). ECA provides community-based energy efficiency services and assistance to low-income families throughout Philadelphia, the poorest of the ten largest cities in the United States.