Stricker Group
Photoresponsive Adaptive Molecules & Materials
At the Chemistry-driven Non-orthogonal Interactions in Tunable Materials (CNIT) Lab at ISTA, we explore how molecular structure and chemical reactivity can be harnessed to engineer materials that respond, adapt, and evolve their function. Our research operates at the interface of organic chemistry and materials science, seeking to translate molecular-level processes into macroscopic function. By integrating molecular design, assembly, and stimuli-responsiveness, we aim to build adaptive systems in which chemical reactivity, molecular organization, and material geometry are chemically “knit” together to produce predictable, coordinated responses across molecular, meso and macroscopic length scales.
Our approach begins with a deep mechanistic understanding of how chemical structure dictates function. Through the tools of synthetic and physical organic chemistry—kinetic analysis, structure–property correlations, and mechanistic understanding—we investigate how molecular architecture governs dynamic changes in physical and chemical properties under external stimuli. Visible light-responsive molecular systems are of particular interest due to the benign and controllable nature of their inputs.
Building on this mechanistic insight, we employ synthetic chemistry to embed responsive motifs into organized molecular assemblies and polymeric frameworks. By guiding how molecules interact, order, and transform, we translate molecular-level reactivity into collective material responses such as phase transitions, mechanical changes, and dynamic reconfiguration. This bottom-up approach allows us to program function through chemical structure, enabling tunable, reversible changes in material properties driven by specific chemical and physical triggers.
Ultimately, by orchestrating structure, geometry, and responsiveness across multiple length scales, we aim to elicit emergent behaviors—memory, adaptation, and learning—that arise not from external control but from the intrinsic chemical design of the system itself. Through this chemistry-first strategy, the CNIT Lab seeks to uncover how molecular-level chemical principles can be scaled up to create functional matter.
Current Projects
From Mechanistic Insight to Molecular Function
Molecular switches and motors can interconvert between multiple metastable states, each corresponding to distinct structural configurations. Understanding how the relative stability and interconversion kinetics of these states are governed by molecular design enables the creation of systems that exhibit tunable and reversible changes in their physical or chemical properties. Using the tools of synthetic and physical organic chemistry, we design new and investigate existing molecular switches and motors. We are particularly interested in how structural features, substitution patterns, and environmental factors shape their energy landscapes. By leveraging how these parameters dictate activation barriers and state lifetimes, we aim to develop strategies for precise control over molecular motion and function.
From Molecules to Functional Matter
Translating molecular switching behavior into macroscopic material function requires controlling how responsive molecules are organized and interact within larger architectures. By embedding photo- and chemo-responsive motifs into macroscopic architectures, we investigate how molecular transformations can direct collective changes in material properties. Through synthetic control over molecular order, polymeric architecture, and mechanical properties, we guide how local structural rearrangements propagate through the material to produce phase transitions, mechanical deformation, or color change. This chemically informed design approach enables the creation of adaptive materials whose macroscopic responses emerge directly from their molecular components.
Publications
Publications: Friedrich Stricker
Career
Starting 2026 Assistant Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
2025 – 2026 Walter Benjamin Return Fellow, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany
2022 – 2025 Walter Benjamin Fellow, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
2022 PhD, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
