Rate My Professor Olin Mefford

Olin Thompson Mefford is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences at Clemson University. He completed his BS in Textile and Polymer Chemistry with honors and a minor in Philosophy at Clemson University in 2003. He earned his PhD in Macromolecular Science and Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2007, where he received the Virginia Tech Graduate Man of the Year Award. His doctoral research involved developing treatments for retinal detachment using hydrophobic ferrofluids in collaboration with the University of Western Australia. Following his PhD, Mefford served as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Chemistry at The Ohio State University from 2007 to 2008, focusing on methods for the fabrication and functionalization of microfluidic devices. He joined the Clemson University faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in Fall 2008.

Mefford's research focuses on developing stable, biocompatible polymer-metal oxide nanoparticle complexes and composites for biomedical, environmental, and energy applications. His work emphasizes materials for magnetic hyperthermia, MRI contrast agents, magnetic particle imaging tracers, and drug delivery systems, with particular attention to the synthesis, characterization, and surface functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles, especially iron oxide, to optimize colloidal stability, magnetic properties, and biocompatibility. He collaborates with faculty in Biology, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, and Chemistry departments. Mefford has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including "A Review of Additive Manufacturing in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine" (Biomedical Materials & Devices, 2024), "Effects of molecular interactions on the release of small molecules from silicone rubber" (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2024), "Catalytic Reaction Triggered by Magnetic Induction Heating Mechanistically Distinguishes Itself from the Standard Thermal Reaction" (ACS Catalysis, 2024), "Effect of Manganese Substitution of Ferrite Nanoparticles on Particle Grain Structure" (Nanoscale Advances, 2022), and "Oxidation of wüstite rich iron oxide nanoparticles via post-synthesis annealing" (Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2021). He is the co-organizer of the biennial Frontiers in Magnetic Particles conference and received the Phi Psi Faculty of the Year Award in 2021.