How are the physical properties and dynamics of polymer materials affected by interactions between different components within a system or external perturbations? How can such interactions or perturbations provide new insight into the underlying mechanisms or length scales affecting that material? For example, glassy materials are non-equilibrium systems that undergo structural relaxation (or physical aging) related to how the material was trapped in its frustrated state. How mobility is imparted to glassy systems can tell us about the cooperative many-body motions that control the "freezing-in" of this non-equilibrium structure. Developing complex systems into material applications involves understanding the system as a whole. How the properties of polymers would change when placed in environments relevant to technological applications enables tuning the material properties and creating materials by design
