Water management and nutrient transport are foundational to soil health, influencing plant growth, microbial activity, and agricultural sustainability. These functions are governed by complex organic and mineral assemblies, including polymeric networks that have evolved to balance water retention, transport, and degradation, yet many engineered soil amendments fall short of this efficiency.
Thaiesha A. Wright,
University of California, Los Angeles
Our research draws on polymer science and soft materials engineering to design biodegradable hydrogels that mimic and enhance these natural functions. We develop biobased hydrogel networks using gelatin methacrylate and chitosan to create tunable semi interpenetrating polymer systems with controlled swelling, mechanical integrity, and environmentally responsive degradation. By systematically varying polymer composition and molecular weight, we elucidate how network architecture governs water retention, pore structure, and material lifetime in soil relevant environments. We examine a fundamental materials question of when short polymer chains behave as true interpenetrating networks rather than simple additives. Through comparative studies of chitosan and oligomeric glucosamine polymers, we reveal how chain length and network interactions dictate macroscopic performance. Together, this work demonstrates how rational hydrogel design can improve soil moisture management while advancing broader principles for distinguishing network forming polymers from functional additives in sustainable soft materials.
Thaiesha A. Wright is an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at
the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Spelman
College in 2015 and her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Miami University in 2020,
where her doctoral research focused on the design, synthesis, and characterization of
protein polymer bioconjugates for biofuel and biocatalytic applications. Following her Ph.D.,
Dr. Wright completed postdoctoral training as a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the
University of Colorado Boulder and as a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of
California, San Diego, where her work centered on enzyme immobilization, cellular
engineering, and functional biomaterials. In 2022, she joined the Department of Chemical
and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA as an Assistant Professor. Her research group
operates at the intersection of biochemistry and materials science, developing
biodegradable and adaptive soft materials for applications in agriculture, industry, and
biomedicine.