Robert A. Bubeck, Ph.D., is currently a Research Professor at Michigan State University with nearly 50 years of experience in industrial research and development. Research areas include the development of new liquid crystalline polymers, semi-crystalline polymers, thermosets, hyperbranched polymers, and dendrimers. He has broad-based expertise in the areas of structure/property fundamentals, mechanical behavior, composites, polymer blends, rheology, fiber spinning, 3D additive fabrication, processing optimization, and surface characterization.
Prior to joining Michigan State University, Dr. Bubeck pursued research in materials and polymer science at the Dow Chemical Company and Michigan Molecular Institute. He pioneered (and later project managed) a synchrotron-based research program aimed at the advanced characterization of physical behavior, surfaces, and processing of polymers.
His current interests include additive manufacturing of polymers and specialized rheology of polyolefins and advanced thermoplastics. He is an author or co-author of over 65 publications and 5 patents. He has presented invited talks at major institutions such as Cornell University, MIT, University of Massachusetts, Case Western Reserve University, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Minnesota. Dr. Bubeck is a Senior Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Bubeck selected publications:
1. R. A. Bubeck, D. J. Buckley, Jr., E. J. Kramer, H. R. Brown, "Modes of Deformation in Rubber-Modified Thermoplastics during Tensile Impact," J. Mater. Sci., 26, 6249 (1991).
2. R. A. Bubeck, C. C. Chau, S. J. Nolan, S. Rosenberg, M. D. Newsham, and M. Serrano, "Polybenzazole Fiber with Ultra-High Physical Properties and Method for Making Them", U. S. Pat. No. 5,356,584, October 18, 1994.
3. R. A. Bubeck and M. A. Barger, “Injection Blow Molding for Polyethylene Terephthalate”, Intern. Polymer Processing, XV, 4, 337-341 (2000) – Invited paper.
4. R. A. Bubeck, P. R. Dvornic, J. Hu, A. Hexemer, X. Li, S. E. Keinath, and D. A. Fischer, “Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) Studies of Copper Ion-Containing PAMAMOS Dendrimer Networks”; Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 206, 1146 – 1153 (2005).
5. S. Rendon, R. A. Bubeck, L. S. Thomas, W. R. Burghardt, A. Hexemer, and D. A. Fischer, “Interrogation of ‘Surface’, ‘Skin’, and ‘Core’ Orientation in Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Copolyester Moldings by Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure and WideAngle X-ray Scattering” J. Appl. Poly. Sci. 106, 2502 (2007).
6. J. Fang, W. R. Burghardt, R. A. Bubeck, S. M. Burgard, and D. A. Fischer, “Bulk and Surface Molecular Orientation Distribution in Injection-Molded Liquid Crystalline Polymers: Experiment and Simulation” Polym. Eng. Sci. 50, 1864 (2010).
7. J. Fang; W. R. Burghardt; R. A. Bubeck “Molecular orientation distributions during injection molding of liquid crystalline polymers: Ex situ investigation of partially filled moldings”, Polymer Engineering and Science, 52(4):774-786 (2012).
8. R. A. Bubeck, M. Most, T. Zhang; “3D Printing and Evaluation of Novel Nanographene-Containing ABS Thermoplastics”, Chapter 4, 53-68, in Polymer-Based Additive Manufacturing- Recent Developments, June 19, 2019; Eds: Seppala, J. E., Kotula, A. P., Snyder, and Chad R., ACS Symposium Series ; 1315 (2019).
9. M. Gilliam; S. Zhao; B. Carlson; D. Okonski; C. Surbrook; T. Parsons; R. A. Bubeck, “Rheology and processing of high-strength liquid crystal polymer reinforced thermoplastic composite materials”, SAMPE Journal, Nov/Dec: 56–64 (2024).