Matthew Libera (mlibera)

Matthew Libera

Professor

Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science

Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Burchard 010
(201) 216-5259
(201) 216-8306
Website

Research

Polymeric biomaterials;
Hydrogels and microgels;
Biomaterials-associated infection;
(cryo-) Electron microscopy;
Electron-beam lithography.

General Information

Matthew Libera joined the Stevens Faculty in November 1989. His research interests center on hydrogels and other polymeric biomaterials with applications primarily to the design and development of bacteria-resistant surfaces. He is Director of the Stevens Laboratory for MultiScale Imaging (LMSI) and is a leader in the application of advanced (cryo) electron microscopy. He founded the biennial Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions, the 7th of which occurred in June 2025. He earned a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering at Lafayette College and an ScD in Materials Science at MIT. Prior to Stevens, Libera worked briefly at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA developing data-storage materials. At Stevens Libera has held an array of Faculty-leadership positions, including serving as a Faculty-elected member of the Stevens Board of Trustees. He also served for five years as the Associate Dean for Graduate Academics and Research within the Stevens School of Engineering and Science.

Experience

1989-present, Professor Stevens Institute of Technology;
2021-2022, Visiting Professor, University of Rhode Island;
2013-2018, Associate Dean of Engineering and Science;
1992- present, Director, Laboratory for Multiscale Imaging;
1996-1997, Visiting Scientist, Hoescht-Celanese Corporation, Summit, NJ;
1988-1989, Visiting Scientist; IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA;
1987-1988, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, MIT, Cambridge, MA.

Institutional Service

  • Athletics Department Recruiting - Faculty Liaison Member
  • Faculty Search Committee Chair
  • Schaefer School Committee on Promotion and Tenure Member

Honors and Awards

Morton Professorship for Excellence in Teaching 2010-2011;
Master of Engr, Honorus Causa, Stevens Inst of Tech, 2003;
Jess N. Davis Award for Exemplary Research, 1998;
Alexander Humphreys Award for Outstanding Teaching, 1997.

Patents and Inventions

M. Libera, Surface Differentially Adhesive to Bacteria and Eukaryotic Cells, U.S. Patent 8,093,009;

X. Dai, S.A.E. Marras, and M. Libera, Gel-Tethered Molecular Beacons, US 9,340,831 B2, 2016.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Wu, X.; Teng, F.; Firlar, E.; Zhang, T.; Libera, M. (2024). Elasto-Plastic Effects on Shape-Shifting Electron-Beam-Patterned Gel-Based Micro-Helices. Materials Horizons (vol. 11, pp. 3427-3436). Royal Society of Chemistry.
  2. Hickok, N.; , e.; Libera, M. (2024). The 2023 Orthopedic Research Society's international consensus meeting on musculoskeletal infection: Summary from the in vitro section. Journal of Orthopaedic Research42 (3 ed., vol. 42, pp. 512-517).
  3. Zhao, W.; Wang, H.; Xiao, X.; De Stefano, L.; Katz, J.; Lin, J. S.; Barron, A. E.; Schaer, T. P.; Wang, H.; Libera, M. (2022). Peptoid‐Loaded Microgels Self‐Defensively Inhibit Staphylococcal Colonization of Titanium in a Model of Operating‐Room Contamination. Advanced Materials Interfaces (31 ed., vol. 9). Wiley.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/admi.202201662.
  4. Xiao, X.; Ji, J.; Wang, H.; Nangia, S.; Wang, H.; Libera, M. (2022). Self-Defensive Antimicrobial Surfaces Using Polymyxin-Loaded Poly(styrene sulfonate) Microgels. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering (11 ed., vol. 8, pp. 4827-4837). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.2c00783.
  5. Zhao, W.; Libera, M.; Prysak, M.; Katz, J.; De Stefano, L. (2022). An in vitro model of microbial contamination in the operating room. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research B: Applied Biomaterials.
  6. Xiao, X.; Ji, J.; Zhao, W.; Nangia, S.; Libera, M.. Salt Destabilization of Cationic Colistin Complexation within Polyanionic Microgels. Macromolecules (5 ed., vol. 55, pp. 1736-1746).
  7. Liang, J.; Xiao, X.; Chou, T.; Libera, M. (2021). Analytical Cryo-Scanning Electron Microscopy of Hydrated Polymers and Microgels. Accounts of Chemical Research (10 ed., vol. 54, pp. 2386-2396).
  8. Teng, F.; Wu, X.; Libera, M. (2020). Chemical Orthogonality in Surface-Patterned Poly(ethylene glycol) Microgels. Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids (35 ed., vol. 36, pp. 10622-10627).
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85090508125&doi=10.1021%2facs.langmuir.0c02172&partnerID=40&md5=ee666eb00dd704cb71e9b562c2089aa6.
  9. Xiao, X.; Zhao, W.; Liang, J.; Sauer, K.; Libera, M. (2020). Self-Defensive Antimicrobial Biomaterial Surfaces. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces (vol. 192, pp. 110989).
  10. Wu, X.; Teng, F.; Libera, M. (2019). Functional Changes during Electron-Beam Lithography of Biotinylated Poly(ethylene glycol) Thin Films. ACS Macro Letters (10 ed., vol. 8, pp. 1252-1256).
  11. Yablon, D.; Libera, M. (2019). Microscopy 101: Scanning probes or scanning electrons: a practical guide to select a method for nanoscale characterization. Microscopy Today (6 ed., vol. 27, pp. 32-38).
  12. Liang, J.; Xiao, X.; Chou, T. M.; Libera, M. (2019). Counterion Exchange in Peptide-Complexed Core-Shell Microgels. Langmuir (29 ed., vol. 35, pp. 9521-9528).
  13. Liang, J.; Wang, H.; Libera, M. (2019). Biomaterial surfaces self-defensive against bacteria by contact transfer of antimicrobials. Biomaterials (vol. 204, pp. 25-35).
  14. Teng, F.; Libera, M. (2018). Microlens Enhancement of Surface-Tethered Molecular Beacons. Langmuir (49 ed., vol. 34, pp. 14969-14974).