Bio

Professor Clarke received her PhD in physics from the University of Oregon in December 1998. She had a brief postdoctoral position with Dartmouth College and then was a research assistant from 1999 to 2003 at the University of Colorado. She joined the NC State University physics department as an assistant professor in August of 2003.

 

Posts

Reevaluating Reaction Rates to Better Understand the Stars

The Physics of Figure Skating Jumps

2025-26 University Faculty Scholars Named

Smith, Wagoner Selected for Digital Science Communication Fellowship

Chiral Phonons Create Orbital Current via Their Own Magnetism

Area(s) of Expertise

Her work focuses on sensitive electrical and optical measurements of nanostructured materials. In particular, she is interested in observing low energy molecular motion within self assembled monolayers and polymers, including two-dimensional phase transitions within monolayer films. Another portion of her laboratory studies conductance through nanocomposite systems formed by mixing conducting and insulating materials.

 

Publications

• Moving From Micro‐ to Nanofibers Within Melt Electrospinning , Journal of Applied Polymer Science (2025)
• Enhancing ionic conductivity in polymer melts results in smaller diameter electrospun fibers , Applied Physics Letters (2023)
• Increasing ionic conductivity within thermoplastics via commercial additives results in a dramatic decrease in fiber diameter from melt electrospinning , Soft Matter (2021)
• Tracking the complete degradation lifecycle of poly(ethyl cyanoacrylate): From induced photoluminescence to nitrogen-doped nano-graphene precursor residue , Polymer Degradation and Stability (2021)
• Nanoparticle-based photothermal heating to drive chemical reactions within a solid: using inhomogeneous polymer degradation to manipulate mechanical properties and segregate carbonaceous by-products , Nanoscale (2019)
• Photothermally-driven thermo-oxidative degradation of low density polyethylene: heterogeneous heating plus a complex reaction leads to homogeneous chemistry , Nanotechnology (2019)
• In situcuring of liquid epoxy via gold-nanoparticle mediated photothermal heating , Nanotechnology (2017)
• Facile measurement of surface heat loss from polymer thin films via fluorescence thermometry , Journal of Polymer Science Part B Polymer Physics (2017)
• Nanoscale steady-state temperature gradients within polymer nanocomposites undergoing continuous-wave photothermal heating from gold nanorods , Nanoscale (2017)
• Enhanced Crystallinity of Polymer Nanofibers without Loss of Nanofibrous Morphology via Heterogeneous Photothermal Annealing , Macromolecules (2016)

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