Eric Jankowski is a Professor in and the Director of the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering at Boise State University. The Computational Materials Engineering Laboratory he has led since 2015 applies high‑performance computing and statistical thermodynamics to molecular self-assembly problems in aerospace composites and organic electronics. Before Boise State he earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering all from the University of Michigan, was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and was a Director’s Fellow at the National Laboratory of the Rockies. He is an NSF CAREER awardee, and his collaborations with The Story Collider have helped shape engineering education at Boise State, and have been recognized by the Anthem Awards and ASEE.

2026 CME NASA Symposium Abstract

Title: Training and deploying efficient polymer simulations from atoms to extreme applications

Abstract: Engineering the structure, properties, and manufacturing processes of materials made from very large molecules underpins urgent problems across aerospace and semiconductor industries. While advances in computing hardware and molecular models have enabled molecular simulations to inform mechanistic understanding of polymer structure-property relationships, challenges with forcefield accuracy, software reproducibility, and data provenance hinder progress. Here we describe recent advances in training scientists the software engineering skills needed to overcome these barriers through the Institute for Computational Molecular Science Education, and case studies of coarse-grained aerospace composite simulations in both epoxy thermosets and linear thermoplastics that require model training. We conclude with a discussion of opportunities to train students and models to handle science at “the interfaces”.