Dr. Wade Adams

Dr. Wade Adams is the Director of the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University. The Smalley Institute is devoted to the development of new innovations on the nanometer scale by coordinating and supporting nanoscience and nanoengineering research of over 120 faculty members. Some current thrusts include research in carbon nanotubes, nanoporous membranes, molecular electronics and computing, and diagnostic and therapeutic medical applications of buckyballs and nanoshells. The Smalley Institute is part of a major initiative at Rice to expand activities in nano, bio, info and enviro science and engineering, and to expand interactions with the Texas Medical Center through the Alliance for NanoHealth.

Dr. Adams retired from the US Air Force senior executive ranks in January 2002, as the Chief Scientist of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Adams was educated at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Massachusetts.

For the past 33 years he has conducted research in polymer physics, concentrating on structure-property relations in high-performance organic materials. He is internationally known for his research in high-performance rigid-rod polymer fibers, X-ray scattering studies of fibers and liquid crystalline films, polymer dispersed liquid crystals, and theoretical studies of ultimate polymer properties. He has written more than 200 publications on these topics, including several review articles and two edited books, has four patents (one licensed), and has given over 600 technical presentations. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Dr. Adams retired from the Air Force Reserve in the rank of Colonel in 1998.