Responsive optical, electro-optical, and photo-optical structured organic materials and approaches for utility in optical sensing, laser beam control, and filtering (modulation) applications. Central research area focuses on the utilization of complex polymer and liquid crystal-based materials for a variety of optical applications.

Current research areas include the development of 1-, 2-, and 3-D switchable polymeric diffractive structures using complex holographic photopolymerization techniques, phototunable cholesteric LCs, photomechanical materials based on photosensitive liquid crystalline networks, novel electro-optic liquid crystal/polymer materials, novel nanostructured optical films, and LC/plasmonic material systems.

• 1992 — Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut
• 1988 — M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut
• 1987 — Dual B.S., Chemical/Materials Engineering, University of Connecticut

• ~325 refereed manuscripts, ~115 proceedings (ACS Poly. Prep. & PMSE, SPIE)
• ~850 total presentations, of which ~345 were invited/plenary
• 11 book chapters/edited books
• 18 patents
• Google Scholar — h-index: 93
• Web of Science — h-index: 73; ~29,000 citations

• 2026 — Elected to National Academy of Engineering
• 2022 — Distinguished Service Award, PMSE, American Chemical Society
• 2019 — MRS Communications Best Paper Award
• 2017–2018 — Induction, University of Connecticut's Academy of Distinguished Engineers
• 2017 — Fellow, American Chemical Society
• 2017 — Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry
• 2016 — Fellow, Materials Research Society
• 2013 — Fellow, Optical Society of America
• 2013 — Fellow, PMSE, American Chemical Society
• 2013 — Recipient of American Chemical Society 2013 PMSE Co-Operative Research Award
• 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014 — Elected PMSE Member-at-Large
• 2011 — 62nd Arthur S. Flemming (DoD) Award
• 2010 — John L. McLucas Basic Science Air Force STE Award
• 2007 — Fellow, Air Force Research Laboratory
• 2007 — Finalist, AFRL/RX Vincent J. Russo Award for Leadership
• 2007 — Fellow, American Physical Society
• 2007 — Fellow, SPIE
• Work selected as Optics and Photonics News choice of "Optics in 2006" (OE 13919, 2005)
• 2007 — Chosen as Spring 2007 Materials Research Society Meeting Chair
• 2004 — Affiliate Society Council (Dayton) Outstanding Engineer Award
• 2003 — Work highlighted in the July 2003 issue of Scientific American
• 2002 — National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
• 2002 — Success Story (Personnel Recognition), Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, "Physicist Earns American Physical Society Outstanding Achievement Medal"
• 2002 — John H. Dillon Medal, Division of Polymer Physics, American Physical Society
• 2001 — Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer
• 2000 — Success Story (Technology Achievement), Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, "Materials Advancements in Optical Technology Speed Development of Holographic Display that Gives Pilots Combat Edge"
• 1997 — Winner, SAIC Executive Science & Technology Council 1996 Publication Prize
• 1996 — Work selected at "Physics News in 1996" by AIP
• 1996 — Co-winner, SAIC Executive Science & Technology Council 1995 Publication Prize
• 1995 — Success Story (Technology Achievement), Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, "New Materials Process Opens Door to Expanded Applications for Holograms"
• 1993 — Hoescht Celanese Prize for Outstanding Poster Presentation, Cornell University, Polymer Outreach Symposium, Ithaca, N.Y.
• 1989–1992 — AFOSR Doctoral Fellowship (25 awarded out of over 600 applications); 3-year award

• July 2025 — U.S. Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service
• July 2025 — U.S. Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award
• February 2020 — U.S. Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award
• February 2019 — U.S. Air Force Civilian Achievement Award
• 2017–2019 — Chair, M&MP COI
• 2008 — Air War College Graduate
• Level III, SPDRE-SE
• Level III, SPDRE-STM
• 2011 — 62nd Arthur S. Flemming (DoD) Award
• 2010 — John L. McLucas Basic Science Air Force STE Award
• 2010 — AFRL Executive Leadership Program
• March 2011 — U.S. Air Force Exemplary Civilian Service Achievement Award
• May 2005 — U.S. Air Force Civilian Achievement Award

• 2026 — International Advisory Board, International Liquid Crystal Conference, Quebec
• Fall 2023 — Chair, National Science Foundation Committee of Visitor Review of MPS Division
• Spring 2024 — Co-organizer of "The Future of Plastics" Luncheon, sponsored by the PMSE Division at the National New Orleans Spring 2024 ACS Meeting
• 2023 — Photoalignment Technology and Applications Conference (PhoSM) Organizing and Programming Committee, December 10–16, St. Petersburg, FL
• 2023–2025 — SPIE Fellows Committee
• 2022–present — Editorial Board, Materials Communication
• 2024 — International Advisory Board, International Liquid Crystal Conference, Brazil
• 2017–2024 — PMSE Division (ACS) Executive Committee (Treasurer, Program Chair, Vice Chair, Chair, Past Chair) — 6-year rotation
• 2022 — International Advisory Board, International Liquid Crystal Conference, Portugal
• 2019 — Guest Editor with N. Tabiryan and G. Cipparrone, JOSA B Special Issue on Diffractive Waveplates
• 2019 — Guest Editor with Q. Li and A. Schenning, Advanced Optical Materials Special Edition on Light Responsive Smart Soft Matter
• 2017–2024 — External Advisory Board, Sandia Materials Science Research Foundation
• 2009–present — Adjunct Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Tech University
• 2015–2024 — Advisory Committee, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Dayton
• 2015–2020 — Advisory Committee for Electro-Optics Department, University of Dayton
• 2016–2020 — Advisory Committee, IMR, Ohio State University
• 2017–2020 — External Advisory Panel, MIT-LL Materials PGM
• 2014–2018 — International Advisory Board for MS Liquid Crystal Engineering Program, Kent State University
• 2013–2019 — Editorial Board, J. Mat. Chem. C
• 2012–present — Editorial Board, Advanced Optical Materials
• 2010–present — Editorial Board, Polymer
• 2009–2017 — Strategic Advisory Board & Chair, Optics of Liquid Crystal Association (OLCA)
• 2009–2025 — Scientific Advisory Board, Mediterranean Workshop and Topical Meeting, "Novel Optical Materials and Applications," Cetraro, Italy
• 2016 — Scientific Committee for International Liquid Crystal Conference
• 2014 — Edited Special Issue of J. Polymer Science, Polymer Physics on "Polymer Optics," February 1, 2014 issue, along with editorial
• 2011–2015 — External Advisory Board, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in St. Louis
• 2011 — Scientific Committee, 6th International Liquid Crystal Elastomer Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, September 5–7, 2011
• 2009 — Meeting Chair, DoD Nanomaterials Meeting, April 2009
• 2002–2009 — Adjunct Professor, University of Akron, Department of Polymer Science
• 2007 — Meeting Chair, Materials Research Society, 2007 Spring Meeting, April 2007
• 2006 — Program Committee, Great Lakes Photonics Symposium, Liquid Crystal Technology and Applications, Dayton, OH, June 12–16, 2006
• 2005 — Program Committee and Guest Editor (Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst.), 11th International Topical Meeting on Optics of Liquid Crystals, Florida
• 2005 — Program Committee, Fall 2005 Great Lakes SPIE Regional Chapter Meeting on Liquid Crystals and Optics and Photonics, Kent, OH, October 27–28, 2005
• 2004 — Symposium Organizer, Materials Research Society Symposium, "Liquid Crystal Materials and Technologies," 2004 Fall Materials Research Society Meeting, Boston, MA
• 2004 — Program Committee, SPIE Optics/Photonics in Security and Defence, Optical Materials in Defence Systems Technology, London, UK, October 25–28, 2004
• 1997–2011 — Program Committee and Session Chair, "Liquid Crystals I–XI," Summer Annual SPIE Conference, San Diego, CA or Denver, CO
• 2002–2005 — PMSE Technical Program Committee, American Chemical Society
• 2001 — Symposium Organizer and Session Chair, Materials Research Society Symposium, "Advances in Liquid Crystalline Materials and Technologies," 2001 Fall Materials Research Society Meeting, Boston, MA, November 26–30, 2001
• 2000 — Program Committee, "Micro- and Nano-photonic Materials and Devices," 2000 SPIE International Symposium, San Jose, CA, January 22–28, 2000
• 1999 — Symposium Organizer and Session Chair, "Liquid Crystal Materials and Display Devices," 1999 Spring Materials Research Society Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 1999

• Materials Research Society
• American Physical Society
• American Chemical Society
• SPIE
• International Liquid Crystal Society
• Optical Society of America

Reviewer of numerous journals in the engineering, soft matter, physics, chemistry, and optics communities and for proposals from OSR, NSF, ARO, PRF, and international programs.

1) Dupont, RL, Patnaik, A, Tohgha U, Stevenson PR, Bunning, TJ, Lee, KM, McConney, ME, “A Different Perspective on Nematic Liquid Crystals Reveals a Unique Off-Axis Polarization Switching Symmetry”, Adv. Func. Mat., in press, 2026

2) Lee, KM, Godman, NP, Bunning, TJ, McConney, ME, “Polymer-Stabilized Uniform Lying Helix Cholesteric Liquid Crystals for Reversible Oblique-Incidence Reflective-to-Transparent Switching”, Adv. Opt. Mat., in press 2026

3) Lee, KM, Dupont, Rl, Wolf, SM, Godman, NP, Bunning, TJ., McConney, ME., “Electrically Controllable Fingerprint Texture and Diffraction Pattern of Polymer-Stabilized Cholesteric Liquid Crystals” ACS Applied Optical Materials, 3(8), 1900-1906, 2025.

4) Reshetnyak, V., Pinkevych, McConney, M., Bunning, T.J., Evans, D.R., “Tamm plasmons: Properties, Applications, and Tuning with help of liquid crystals”, Invited Review article, Crystals, 15(2), 2025.

5) Zaccagnini, F., Petronella, F., McConney, M., Slagle, J., Jeong, K-U, Bunning, T.J., De Sio, L., “Thermoplasmonic-controlled Optical Filters based on the Combination of Chiral Liquid Crystals and Metasurface”, Macromolecular Rapid Communication, 46(21), 2025. 6) Jeon, J, Nepal, D., McConney, ME, Bunning, TJ, Tsukruk, VV, “Spatially Programmable Chirality in Cellulose Nanocrystal Films via Rotational Magnetic Flow”ACS Applied Optical Materials and Interfaces, 17(36), 51022-51031, 2025.

7) Buxton, M., Brackenridge, J., Poliukhova, V., Nepal, Bunning, T., Tsukruk, V., “Surface Mapping of Functionalized Two-Dimensional Nanosheets: Graphene Oxide and MXene Materials”, Langmuir, 41(19), 11866-11881, 2025.

8) Tabiryan, NV., Pshenichnvi, A., Ouskova, O., Gerosa, K., Crenshaw, E., Carter, MJ., McConney, M, Urbas, A., Bunning, TJ., Slagle, J., “Liquid crystalline geometrical phase Alvarez-Lohmann Lenses lenses”, Optical Materials Express, 14(11), 2786-2799, 2024

9) Tseun-Hsien Lin, Duan-Yi Guo, Chun-Wei Chen, Wen-Xin Zeng, Po-Chang Chen, Ting-Mao Feng, Liang-Ying Wu, Wen-Ming Guo, Li-Min Chang, Hung-Chang Jau, Chun-Ta Wang, Timothy J. Bunning, Iam Choon Khoo, “Directed crystalline symmetry transformation of blue-phase liquid crystals by reverse electrostriction”, Nature Communications, 15(1), 2024.

10) Yakovin, I., Reshetnyak, V.Y., Bunning, T.J., Evans, D.R., “Tuanble THz absorbers based on LC-tuned Yagi-Uda Antennas”, Liq. Cryst. (special issue), 10.1080/02678292.2024.2339913, 51(13-14), 2241, 2024.

11) Dimitrov, B., Daria Bukharina, Poliukhova, V., Dhriti Nepal, Michael E. McConney, Timothy J Bunning, Vladimir V. Tsukruk, “Printed Twisted Thin Films with Near-Infra-Red Bandgaps and Tailored Chiroptcal Properties”, ACS Applied Optical Materials, 2(12), 2540, Nov. 2024.