Michael Rubinstein, Aleksandar S. Vesic Distinguished Professor  

Michael Rubinstein

Office Location: 3377 CIEMAS Building, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708
Email Address: michael.rubinstein@duke.edu

Education:
Ph.D., Harvard University, 1983

Teaching (Spring 2025):

  • Me 555.14, Advanced topics Synopsis
    Fitzpatrk 1411, TuTh 01:25 PM-02:40 PM
  • Physics 590.01, Topics in theoretical physics Synopsis
    Fitzpatrk 1411, TuTh 01:25 PM-02:40 PM
  • Bme 590.04, Special topics Synopsis
    Fitzpatrk 1411, TuTh 01:25 PM-02:40 PM

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Wang, ZJ; Li, W; Li, X; Nakajima, T; Rubinstein, M; Gong, JP, Rapid self-strengthening in double-network hydrogels triggered by bond scission., Nature materials (February, 2025) [doi]  [abs].
  2. Hill, DB; Button, B; Rubinstein, M; Boucher, RC, Physiology and pathophysiology of human airway mucus., Physiological reviews, vol. 102 no. 4 (October, 2022), pp. 1757-1836 [doi]  [abs].
  3. Li, Y; Li, Y; Prince, E; Weitz, JI; Panyukov, S; Ramachandran, A; Rubinstein, M; Kumacheva, E, Fibrous hydrogels under biaxial confinement., Nature communications, vol. 13 no. 1 (June, 2022), pp. 3264 [doi]  [abs].
  4. Yamamoto, T; Campbell, JA; Panyukov, S; Rubinstein, M, Scaling Theory of Swelling and Deswelling of Polymer Networks, Macromolecules, vol. 55 no. 9 (May, 2022), pp. 3588-3601 [doi]  [abs].
  5. Bilchak, CR; Jhalaria, M; Adhikari, S; Midya, J; Huang, Y; Abbas, Z; Nikoubashman, A; Benicewicz, BC; Rubinstein, M; Kumar, SK, Understanding Gas Transport in Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Assemblies., Macromolecules, vol. 55 no. 8 (April, 2022), pp. 3011-3019 [doi]  [abs].

Highlight:

The research of the Rubinstein group is in the field of polymer theory and computer simulations. The unique properties of polymeric systems are due to the size, topology and interactions of the molecules they are made of. Our goal is to understand the properties of various polymeric systems and to design new systems with even more interesting and useful properties.

Our approach is based upon building and solving simple molecular models of different polymeric systems. The models we develop are simple enough to be solved either analytically or numerically, but contain the main features leading to unique properties of real polymers. Computer simulations of our models serve as an important bridge between analytical calculations and experiments.