Dr. David S. Simmons is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Florida. His research group combines computer simulations, machine learning, theory, evolutionary algorithms, and high-throughput experiments to design and understand polymers and other next-generation advanced materials. Major research areas in the Simmons group include physics and design of glass-forming materials, dynamics and mechanics in nanostructured materials, mechanical properties of nano-filled elastomers, and rational design of sequence-specific polymers. This work has been recognized with support from the W. M. Keck Foundation, a National Science Foundation CAREER award, and the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, among others. Dr. Simmons began his research career over 20 years ago with internships in biomedical engineering startup companies and academic labs, where his work included biomedical device design, continuum fluid mechanics simulations, and polymerization reactor design and operation. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida, graduating Magna Cum Laude with research focused on continuum mechanics of thin film breakup. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, with theoretical work on the phase and conformational behavior of polymers and polyelectrolytes. His postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology focused on polymer dynamics and glass formation, with support from an NRC postdoctoral fellowship grant. Dr. Simmons most recently spent six years on the faculty of the Department of Polymer Engineering at the University of Akron, before joining the University of South Florida family in 2018.