Electronic Polymer Innovations Through AI-guided Robotic Laboratories

About

Dr. Jie Xu, Assistant Professor in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago will present a seminar titled "Electronic Polymer Innovations Through AI-guided Robotic Laboratories" to the interested faculty and students at Discovery Park.

Abstract

Autonomous laboratories that integrate high-throughput synthesis, processing, and characterization with data-driven modeling offer a powerful pathway to accelerate materials discovery and uncover complex structure–processing–property relationships. We are developing Polybot, an AI-guided robotic laboratory designed to address the inherent complexity of polymer systems, in which subtle variations in composition and processing can produce substantial changes in morphology and performance. This talk will highlight Polybot-enabled advances in the autonomous discovery of electronic polymers, including the inverse design of copolymer optical properties, automated solution processing to control solid-state morphology and electronic performance, and the data-driven identification of morphological design principles for optimizing mixed ionic–electronic transport. Building on these capabilities, I will introduce PoLARIS, a distributed cloud laboratory that will connect synthesis, processing, characterization, and AI-guided decision-making across multiple facilities and make advanced autonomous experimentation accessible to a broader research community.

Bio

Prof. Jie Xu is an Assistant Professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago and holds a joint appointment as a scientist at the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory. Her research integrates polymer science with AI-guided autonomous experimentation to accelerate the discovery and development of functional polymers. Her group develops polymer materials for electronics and sustainability while advancing laboratory automation and decision intelligence through Polybot, an AI-guided robotic laboratory, and PoLARIS, a cloud laboratory that integrates synthesis, processing, characterization, and AI/ML-guided decision-making. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Nanjing University and completed her postdoctoral research at Stanford University, where she pioneered stretchable semiconducting polymers and intrinsically stretchable transistors and circuits. Her honors include the MRS Postdoctoral Award, recognition as one of MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 (TR35) and Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Disruptors, the ACS PMSE Early Investigator Honoree, and selection as a 2025 Scialog Fellow in Automating Chemical Laboratories.