Jonathan Wilker

Jonathan Wilker, Ph.D.
Jonathan Wilker
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

California Institute of Technology
Occupation(s)Professor of Chemistry, Purdue University,

Professor of Materials Engineering, Purdue University,

Lead Scientist, Mussel Polymers
AwardsBeckman Young Investigators Award
Websitehttps://www.chem.purdue.edu/wilker/

Jonathan Wilker is an American scientist, engineer, and educator who focuses on developing marine animal-inspired underwater adhesives for use in surgery, construction, and other applications. His work has been profiled by The New York Times,[1] National Public Radio,[2] Popular Science,[3] and his research findings appear in many scientific journals, such as Nature,[4] Journal of the American Chemical Society,[5][6] and ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.[7][8] He is a professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he teaches courses in inorganic chemistry and bioinorganic chemistry. Wilker has received a number of awards for his teaching including The College of Science Outstanding Teacher Award at Purdue University (2011).[9] In addition to being in the Department of Chemistry, he is also a Professor of Materials Engineering at Purdue University. Outside activities include advocacy for federal funding of science research and development.[10]

  1. ^ "Special Adhesive Helps Oysters Stick Together". New York Times. August 30, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  2. ^ "Why A Hoosier State Scientist Is Stuck On Oysters". National Public Radio. March 28, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  3. ^ "Your guide to the practical uses of hagfish slime, glowworm glue, and other animal goo". Popular Science. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  4. ^ Westerman, Clayton R.; McGill, Bradley C.; Wilker, Jonathan J. (September 2023). "Sustainably sourced components to generate high-strength adhesives". Nature. 621 (7978): 306–311. Bibcode:2023Natur.621..306W. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06335-7. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 37704765.
  5. ^ Mazzotta, Michael G.; Putnam, Amelia A.; North, Michael A.; Wilker, Jonathan J. (2020-03-11). "Weak Bonds in a Biomimetic Adhesive Enhance Toughness and Performance". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 142 (10): 4762–4768. doi:10.1021/jacs.9b13356. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 32069400.
  6. ^ Román, Jessica K.; Wilker, Jonathan J. (2019-01-23). "Cooking Chemistry Transforms Proteins into High-Strength Adhesives". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 141 (3): 1359–1365. doi:10.1021/jacs.8b12150. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 30576593.
  7. ^ Schmidt, Gudrun; Christ, Peter E.; Kertes, Paige E.; Fisher, Racheal V.; Miles, Logan J.; Wilker, Jonathan J. (2023-07-12). "Underwater Bonding with a Biobased Adhesive from Tannic Acid and Zein Protein". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 15 (27): 32863–32874. doi:10.1021/acsami.3c04009. ISSN 1944-8244. PMID 37378615.
  8. ^ Tibabuzo Perdomo, Andrés M.; Alberts, Erik M.; Taylor, Stephen D.; Sherman, Debra M.; Huang, Chia-Ping; Wilker, Jonathan J. (2018-05-02). "Changes in Cementation of Reef Building Oysters Transitioning from Larvae to Adults". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 10 (17): 14248–14253. doi:10.1021/acsami.8b01305. ISSN 1944-8244. PMID 29652468.
  9. ^ Fiorini, Philip (October 24, 2012). "Purdue researcher to discuss how nature helps develop biomedical materials". Purdue University. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  10. ^ Wang, Linda (October 10, 2012). "Speaking Up For Science". Chemical & Engineering News. 90 (22): 55. doi:10.1021/cen-09022-acsnews.