Rate My Professor Michael Bortner

Michael Bortner is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Macromolecules Innovation Institute and Director of the MACR Degree Program. As an Engineering professor specializing in polymer nanocomposites, he holds a B.S. from Penn State University in 1998, an M.Eng. from Virginia Tech in 2002, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in 2003.

Bortner's research focuses on polymer nanocomposites, nanostructured materials and surfaces, polymer morphology and structure-property relationships, and surface and interface phenomena in polymers. His work applies to additive manufacturing, composite processing, smart materials, advanced materials, structural composites, and multifunctional coatings. Expertise areas include nanomaterial dispersion and characterization, manufacturing process development, novel nanocomposite characterization techniques, and transport at polymer-particle interfaces in multi-phase systems. His research group examines the rheology of polymer composites to understand how processing conditions influence final part properties, with emphasis on material extrusion additive manufacturing and aligned discontinuous fiber reinforced structural composites. His publications have accumulated over 5,000 citations on Google Scholar, demonstrating substantial impact in additive manufacturing, rheology, nanocellulose, and polymer composites. Bortner has earned the 2023 Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Engineering, a 2022 Certificate for Teaching Excellence, the 2021 College of Engineering Faculty Fellow recognition, and the 2019 Undergraduate Research Advisor of the Year Award. He has instructed over 34 short courses on polymer processing, rheology, and process-structure-property relationships since 2016 via Virginia Tech continuing education, the American Chemical Society, the Adhesion Society, and Fortune 500 companies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his team designed and produced NIH-approved 3D printed face shields and qualified nasopharyngeal swabs for clinical use. He serves on the Virginia Tech Chemical Engineering diversity committee, mentors student chapters of the Society of Plastics Engineers and TAPPI, leads STEM outreach for underrepresented students, and has held executive roles such as Structural Division Chair (2020-2021) and Annual Meeting co-chair (2021-2022) for the Adhesion Society, along with Membership Chair (2018-2020) and Treasurer (2021-2022) for the ACS Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division.