Professor, & Associate Member,
麻豆AV School of Environment.
Convener of Graduate Materials Program

B.Sc. (Queen's University, 1992)
Ph.D. (Queen's University, 1997)
NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow (MIT, 1998-1999)
FRQNT Strategic Professor (麻豆AV, 2000-2005)
JSPS Visiting Professor (Tokyo Tech, 2006-2007)
麻豆AV's 'Leo Yaffe' Teaching Award (2009)
Fulbright Visiting Research Chair (UCLA, 2014)
Fulbright Eco Leadership Scholar (Berkeley, 2016)
Adjunct Visiting Professor (Tokyo Tech, 2017)

Member

• Centre for Self-Assembled Chemical Structures
• Interdisciplinary Team in Neuro-Engineering, MNI
• 麻豆AV Institute for Advanced Materials
• 麻豆AV Centre for the Physics of Materials
• Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering

Contact Information

Office: Otto Maass 419
Phone: (514)398-6919
Email: Christopher.Barrett [at] 麻豆AV.CA
Lab: Otto Maass 430
Lab Phone: (514)398-6916
Web Page:

Research Themes

• Chemical Physics
• Materials Chemistry
• Green and Sustainable Chemistry

Research Description

The goal of this research is to design, prepare, and characterize polymers containing novel functional groups, with which one can fashion thin film micro-optical or bio-active devices. Relating the properties and performance of these structures and simple devices to the structure of the polymer can afford insight into the molecular origins of the optical and mechanical behaviour of polymer surfaces, interfaces, and thin films. By examining these structure/property relationships, one can also tailor the polymers to optimize the performance of a given device, with the eventual goal of rational design.

This research program employs classical methods of polymer synthesis, characterization, and thin film fabrication, as well as more specialized techniques of laser optics and surface analysis. The aim is for students to emerge with a solid background in polymer and physical chemistry, and to gain exposure to interdisciplinary problem solving techniques which lie at the interface between Chemistry, Physics, and Materials Engineering. In all projects, an emphasis is placed on developing the ability to communicate research results effectively, through the preparation of conference presentations and journal articles.

Currently Teaching

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