Research activities in polymers at MIT reflect the various and diverse interests of the faculty. Research associated directly with PPST students is necessarily a component of this larger range of activities. As a general rule, PPST students are engaged in interdisciplinary research topics involving collaboration of two or more faculty members. A few examples are toughening of polymers, electrically and optically responsive polymers, nanostructured polymers, thermomechanical processing of polymers, phase transitions, biomaterials, and molecular modeling.

Research is conducted for the most part in the laboratories of individual faculty members. However, the entire polymer research community at MIT benefits from the well-equipped characterization facility of the Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE). In this facility, major pieces of specialized equipment are maintained and made available to researchers. Among the items available in the facility are advanced thermal analysis equipment, x-ray scattering equipment, scanning and transmission electron microscopes, ultramicrotomes, an image analyzing computer, AFM, various optical and infrared spectrometers, ellipsometry, profilometry and dynamic mechanical testing devices.