Paschalis Alexandridis

2026 Sigma Xi Fellow

Statement

“Back in 1990, a year into my PhD studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I received a letter from the MIT Sigma Xi chapter nominating me as an associate member of the Society. Being new to US academia, I was not familiar with Sigma Xi, but I considered the invitation to join Sigma Xi a great honor, especially for an ambitious graduate student. I applied for full membership as soon as I had the requisite number of publications, and have maintained my membership ever since, proud to belong to such a distinguished group of Spoudon Xynones, i.e., "Companions in Zealous Research." In 1997 I joined as assistant professor the University at Buffalo (UB) and also the local Sigma Xi chapter. My recognition with the Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award (YIA), and my participation at the 2002 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting in Galveston, TX, where I delivered the award lecture, have been highlights of my early period at UB. In recent years I served Sigma Xi Chapter 68 as Treasurer and Secretary. Among the activities of the UB chapter, I value most the recognition of outstanding graduate student presenters at the annual UB Celebration of Student Academic Excellence, and their subsequent recruitment into Sigma Xi.”

Biography

Paschalis Alexandridis, UB Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo (UB), The State University of New York (SUNY), utilizes molecular interactions and supramolecular assemblies to develop products with desired properties and function, and processes that are energy efficient and environment friendly. 

Alexandridis advanced the fundamentals of block copolymer organization, where he connected the self-assembly of block copolymers in the melt to the self-assembly of short chain surfactants in water, and established that long-chain surfactants in water follow the physics of polymer melts. He translated this knowledge into the formulation of consumer products, and the controlled and benign synthesis of nanoparticles. Further, Alexandridis leveraged polymer-solvent interactions to selectively target for dissolution and reprocessing semicrystalline polymers that do not typically dissolve, thus unlocking opportunities for biomass waste valorization and plastic waste reduction. Ongoing projects in the Alexandridis lab address structuring via self-assembly and directed assembly of block copolymers, sequestration of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from aqueous solutions, environmentally responsible solvents (water, ionic liquids, switchable hydrophilicity solvents), plastics recycling and textile recycling. Alexandridis has worked with industry to address product and process issues involving complex fluids, soft materials, and surfaces, for example, formulation of waterborne inks for improved pigment deposition, prediction of long-term performance of biomedical cross-linked polymer gels, control of adhesion during plastics processing, and evaluation of adsorbent materials for pharmaceutical actives.

Professor Alexandridis has authored over 220 peer-reviewed articles (published in 80 different journals) and 70 proceedings (Google Scholar citations ≈ 29,000 and h-index = 89 as of 10/2026). He is the editor of two books and co-inventor of six U.S. patents on pharmaceutical formulations, superabsorbent polymers, and nanomaterial synthesis. He has served as Director of Graduate Studies in Chemical Engineering, founding Co-Director of the UB Materials Science and Engineering program, and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). He represented SEAS for eight terms on the UB Faculty Senate, and has served on several university and senate committees. He holds an affiliate appointment in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, and has been visiting professor at the Technical University of Crete, Kyushu University, and Shinshu University. Alexandridis received his PhD in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1994, and joined UB in 1997 following postdoctoral research in polymer and surfactant physical chemistry at Lund University in Sweden.

At UB, Alexandridis has developed and taught courses such as "We All Live in a Material World" and "Molecular Nanotechnology and Bionanotechnology" (freshman-level seminars), "Colloid and Surface Phenomena", "Introduction to Polymers", and "Petroleum Engineering" (elective courses), and "Product Design" (required capstone design course). He has mentored in research over 90 graduate students and 90 undergraduate students.

Professor Alexandridis is an elected Fellow of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and International Association of Advanced Materials. He has received numerous awards including the AIChE Braskem Award for Excellence in Materials Engineering and Science, American Chemical Society (ACS) Schoellkopf Medal, Bodossaki Foundation Academic Prize in Applied Science, Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and UB’s inaugural Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award. Alexandridis has served as chair of AIChE Area 1C: "Interfacial Phenomena", on the board of the AIChE Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum, and on the executive committee of the ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry. He is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, Review Editor of the Journal of Surfactants and Detergents, and section-Editor-in-Chief of Polymers.