A Chemist After All

Since 2013, Willard has been at M.I.T., where he is an associate professor and recently earned tenure. He and his research group are seeking to understand the properties of plastic and polymer molecules— which tend to be more disordered than what you might see in metal or other materials—as well as the interaction between water and other molecules. It is, essentially, Willard says, a deeper dive into “the effects of disorder in physical systems.”

How the research might eventually apply to our daily lives isn’t entirely clear at this point, since the path from fundamental science to technological application can be long and unpredictable. But it could help create more flexible solar panels, more efficient batteries and lighting, or even more effective materials for quantum computing. “We’re focused on uncovering fundamental insight at a level of granularity where the practical applications are not clear yet,” Willard says. “But the more that we understand about what these systems are capable of, the more technology can emerge from it.”