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Valeria Tohver Milam joined the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology as an assistant professor in July 2004, and is currently an Associate Professor and MSE Faculty Fellow. She received her B.S. in Materials Science Engineering with Honors from the University of Florida in 1993, followed by an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering in 1997 and a Ph.D. in 2001, both from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her doctoral research focused on the phase behavior and structural properties of nanoparticle-microsphere suspensions, proposing a novel colloidal stabilization mechanism called nanoparticle “haloing.” Milam's postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania concentrated on DNA-mediated colloidal assembly, revealing how specific attractions in DNA-grafted microspheres vary with sequence length and ionic strength. Her research interests encompass biomolecular solids, particularly the use of DNA-based ligands known as aptamers as alternatives to antibodies, and the development of a screening platform named CompELS. Additionally, her work involves bio-inspired colloidal assembly for multifunctional drug delivery vehicles, utilizing natural and synthetic oligonucleotides for targeted applications in materials processing and therapeutic systems.
Department of Computer Science: GRE scores are optional for Fall 2026.