DANIELLE J. MAI

Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Stanford University

djmai {at} stanford {dot} edu

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois, 2016
M.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois, 2014
B.S.E. Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2011

SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS

2024 Scialog Fellow: Sustainable Minerals, Metals, and Materials
2023 MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35
2023 Arthur K. Doolittle Award, American Chemical Society PMSE Division
2022 Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator
2021 American Physical Society DPOLY/UKPPG Exchange Lectureship
2020 American Institute of Chemical Engineers 35 Under 35 Award
2017 Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows Award
2013 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2011 Illinois Distinguished Fellowship

BIOGRAPHY

Danielle was born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and she began her research career at the Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center under the guidance of Dr. John Goudie and Prof. Silvia Rossbach (Western Michigan University). Danielle earned her bachelor’s in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she and her husband Jonny met as members of the Michigan Marching Band.

Danielle’s research integrates precise biopolymer engineering with multiscale characterization techniques to develop functional biomaterials and enhance fundamental understanding of soft matter physics. Danielle’s dissertation research in the Schroeder group extended the field of single polymer dynamics to include DNA comb polymers. She received recognition as a 2015 finalist in the AIChE Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research session and winner of an Outstanding Graduate Research Award from the Lam Research Corporation. In the Olsen group at MIT, Danielle engineered materials with selective biomolecular transport properties, elucidated mechanisms of toughness and extensibility in entangled associative hydrogels, and developed high-throughput methods to accelerate the discovery of polypeptide materials.

Danielle is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in science and engineering. She co-advises the Stanford Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and serves as a faculty mentor for the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Doctoral Fellowship Program. For these contributions, she was recognized with a 2022 Inspiring Early Academic Career Award by Stanford’s Faculty Women’s Forum and the 2023 Faculty Award by the Stanford Asian American Activities Center. Outside of the lab, Danielle enjoys exploring the local food scene, cooking, snowboarding, and cheering for the Michigan Wolverines.