Ty Christoff-Tempesta is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Program in Polymers and Soft Matter at MIT working with Professor Julia Ortony. With the support of the Martin Fellowship, Ty works towards creating rationally designed nanoscale fibers for environmental sustainability. These novel materials are based on assemblies of molecules bound by nonpermanent interactions which can be recycled through triggered assembly and disassembly. Ty considers water-processability, scalability, and environmental impact as key elements in designing and testing these new materials.
Ty holds a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida and has received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the H.F. Taylor Fellowship, and the Lemelson-Vest Award. Ty enjoys competing in sustainability challenges, including in this year’s MADMEC materials design challenge and as a Grand Prize winner of the 2019 Patagonia Case Competition on sustainability in business. In his free time, Ty enjoys rock climbing, skiing, frisbee, and discovering other new ways to wear out his knees.