Eric and his research group are interested in the synthesis and characterization of heterogeneous block copolymers and polymer nanocomposites for applications ranging from asphalt modification to adhesives to directed self-assembly for photolithographic masks. He and his team have recently discovered synthetic routes to non-crosslinked thermoplastics and thermoplastic elastomers derived from soybean oil, which are currently in the early stages of commercialization. Eric is also currently investigating the use of other renewable feedstocks such as glycerol as potential replacements for peterochemically derived monomers in speciality polymers.