YuanQiao (Yuan) Rao
YuanQiao (Yuan) Rao is a professor and chair of the Polymer Engineering and Science department at Penn State Behrend. She joined Behrend in January 2026 after a long industrial career (Kodak; Dow), most recently as a Senior R&D Fellow. Rao is known for translating deep polymer science into manufacturable products across sustainable and biodegradable polymers, interfacial engineering and adhesion, membranes and separations, optical/functional coatings, and advanced processing. An ACS Fellow (2025) and widely published inventor, she leads an undergraduate-centered, hands-on/open lab program anchored by an AI-assisted polymer processing testbed (reactive extrusion, molding, coatings, inline metrology, and data/ML) that links chemistry–structure–processing–properties to shorten design–build–test cycles. She champions industry–university–government collaboration to co-define problems and accelerate solutions in energy, health, and sustainability.
In the News
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Projects
Recent Publications
ATP-based screening of polymer biodegradability via microbial activity tracking
Rao, Y. Q., Gu, D. & Jayaraman, A., May 11 2026, In: Polymer. 354, 129995.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Two-step chemolytic delamination and depolymerization of multilayer laminated packaging films into valuable chemicals
Jan, K., Lu, T., Ayafor, C., Rao, Y., Jeon, J., Gu, J., Folgueras, M. C., Wong, H. W. & Chen, W. T., Nov 28 2025, In: Green Chemistry. 27, 44, p. 14154-14173 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Impact of Degree of Ethoxylation on Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate Surfactant Adsorption onto Silicone-in-Water Emulsion Droplets
Miller, D. S., Jing, M., Yu, D., Young, W. O., Cressman, B., DeFelippis, J., Gu, J., Leal, L., Fernandes, N., Pacholski, M. L., Vuong, S., Smith, R., Nimako-Boateng, C., Wei, X., Reiner, B. R. & Rao, Y. Q., Sep 10 2024, In: Langmuir. 40, 36, p. 18917-18924 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Simple Genomic Traits Predict Rates of Polysaccharide Biodegradation
Shan, X., Wasson, P. A., Rao, Y. Q., Backer, S., Leal, L., Albright, V. C., Gao, W., Chai, Y., Sichert, A., Pollak, S., Yin, L. & Cordero, O. X., Jul 23 2024, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 58, 29, p. 13000-13009 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Design of voltage stabilizers for high breakdown strength materials
Yu, D., Mwasame, P., Yu, X., Mukhopadhyay, S., Rao, Y., Cogen, J. & Person, T., Mar 15 2024, In: Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 141, 11, e55082.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Glasslike Polymer Nanocomposite Coating via High Loading of Mixed-Size Nanoparticles
Matsuda, Y., Yang, J., Fitzgibbons, T. & Rao, Y., Jan 14 2022, In: ACS Applied Polymer Materials. 4, 1, p. 672-681 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Nanofiltration membranes from crosslinked Troger's base Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIMs)
Agarwal, P., Hefner, R. E., Ge, S., Tomlinson, I., Rao, Y. Q. & Dikic, T., Feb 1 2020, In: Journal of Membrane Science. 595, 117501.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Thin film composite membranes from polymers of intrinsic microporosity using layer-by-layer method
Agarwal, P., Tomlinson, I., Hefner, R. E., Ge, S., Rao, Y. Q. & Dikic, T., Feb 15 2019, In: Journal of Membrane Science. 572, p. 475-479 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Barrier properties and structure of liquid crystalline epoxy and its nanocomposites
Rao, Y. Q., Liu, A. & O'Connell, K., Apr 25 2018, In: Polymer. 142, p. 109-118 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Structure and its thickness dependence of thin films of phenyl and methyl silsesquioxane polymers
Rao, Y. Q., Fenton, J., Jenkins, R. & Evans, J., Dec 15 2018, In: Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids. 502, p. 128-135 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Structural Evolution of Silica Gel and Silsesquioxane Using Thermal Curing
Hu, N., Rao, Y., Sun, S., Hou, L., Wu, P., Fan, S. & Ye, B., Aug 1 2016, In: Applied Spectroscopy. 70, 8, p. 1328-1338 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
PU elastomers comprising spherical nanosilicas: Balancing rheology and properties
Rao, Y., Munro, J., Ge, S. & Garcia-Meitin, E., Nov 5 2014, In: Polymer. 55, 23, p. 6076-6084 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Nanofluids: Stability, phase diagram, rheology and applications
Rao, Y., Dec 2010, In: Particuology. 8, 6, p. 549-555 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Organic solvent-dispersed TiO2 nanoparticle characterization
Rao, Y., Antalek, B., Minter, J., Mourey, T., Blanton, T., Slater, G., Slater, L. & Fornalik, J., Nov 3 2009, In: Langmuir. 25, 21, p. 12713-12720 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Invited paper: Tandem hybrid white oled devices with improved light extraction
Tyan, Y. S., Rao, Y., Ren, X., Kesel, R., Cushman, T. R., Begley, W. J. & Bhandari, N., 2009, In: Digest of Technical Papers - SID International Symposium. 40, 1, p. 895-898 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference article › peer-review
