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Meetings :: New York 2003 |
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College/University Faculty Directorate Report
Ron Archer, Associate Director
1. Textbook Authors (Ford/Krause/Sperling)
Two of the committee members indicated activity since the New Orleans meeting as follows:
1) Sonja Krause recently emailed answers to a number of polymer questions from a person who is writing a textbook for nonmajors.
2) Les Sperling mailed approximately 25-30 letters at the end of March 2003 to
recent undergraduate textbook authors in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and
Materials Science and Engineering. The title of his letter was "The Inclusion of Modern Polymer Topics and Examples in Undergraduate Books."
2. Curriculum Development Award (open)
3. Visitation Program (Droske)
No POLYED workshops have been offered since the last meeting.
4. Unilever Award (Ford/Berry)
The recipient of the 2003 Unilever Award for Outstanding Graduate Research is Dr. Christopher W. Bielawski , who received his doctorate in October 2002 from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA under the direction of Professor Robert H. Grubbs. Dr. Bielawski's research efforts were directed toward establishing new concepts and strategies in macromolecular synthesis through the development of designer Ru catalysts. For example, the efficient synthesis of copolymers with segments that require two or more different polymerization techniques remains challenging as multiple steps are usually necessary. To circumvent this drawback, Bielawski developed a series of catalysts that are capable of simultaneously mediating two mechanistically distinct polymerizations (i.e., ring-opening metathesis polymerization and atom-transfer radical polymerization). This has enabled the preparation of a variety of complex block copolymers in a single pot. A second aspect of Bielawski's research was focused on the synthesis of cyclic polymers. Traditionally, such polymers are made through the intramolecular coupling of linear precursors. However, such cyclizations are rarely quantitative and extremely dilute conditions are required which places limits on the ability to prepare substantial amounts of pure cyclic polymer. By adding monomer to a "cyclic" catalyst, Bielawski demonstrated that both ends of the growing polymer chain remain attached to the catalyst so the topology of polymer remains cyclic throughout the entire reaction.
The Unilever Award, which will be presented at the New York meeting of the American Chemical Society (Sept. 7-11) consists of a $2,000 prize, a plaque and travel expenses. This award, administered by the Polymer Education Committee of the Polymer Chemistry and Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Divisions, was established in 1991 and is sponsored by Unilever, a global manufacturer of consumer products, foods and specialty chemicals. The award recognizes and encourages outstanding graduate research in the design, synthesis and physical chemistry of polymers.
Efforts to get long term funding from Unilever still have not succeeded. At present even another year is in doubt. The Unilever lab at Edgewater, NJ that has sponsored the award is being closed. Our advocate, member of the selection committee, and award presenter, Dr. K. P. Ananth, is moving to a Unilever facility in Connecticut. He has promised to try to get Unilever to continue the award, and will bring information on the management response to me at the New York meeting.
5. ICI Student Award in Applied Polymer Science ( Thomas Hahn (2003 chair), John Thomaides )
Six finalists have been selected among 13 applicants for the 2003 ICI Student Award in Applied Polymer Science. This Award, sponsored by ICI and administered through the Joint Polymer Education Committee of the ACS Divisions of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) and Polymer Chemistry (POLY), is given annually for the best paper presented at the ICI Student Award Symposium as part of the PMSE program at the Fall ACS Meeting.
The six finalists and their respective papers are:
· Christopher W. Bielawski , California Institute of Technology
Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers Using Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP)
· Yushan Hu , Case Western Reserve University
Structural Model for Oxygen Permeability of a Liquid Crystalline Polymer
· Brian K. Johnson , Princeton University
NanoPrecipitation of Organic Active using Mixing and Block Copolymer Stabilization
· Benjamin Falk , Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Optical pyrometry: A novel method for monitoring photopolymerizations
· Won Jae Chung , Georgia Institute of Technology
Structure-property relationships for Pd catalyzed poly(Norbornene) derivatives
· Chunyan Chen , University of Michigan
Molecular-Level Understanding of Polymer-Silane Interacting Mechanism by SFG Vibrational Spectroscopy
The finalists will be presenting their papers at the ICI student Award Symposium at the 226 th ACS National Meeting, New York, New York. The session is being held at the Hilton New York, Clinton Suite, on Tuesday, September 9, 2003 from 1:15 PM until 4:45 PM. The finalists will be compensated up to $750 for their expenses to attend the meeting. In addition, they will receive one-year membership to the PMSE division.
An anonymous committee selects the winner among the six finalists after the papers are presented. The winner will be notified at a later date, and then he or she will receive the award at the 227 th ACS National Meeting, Spring 2004.
Lastly, the ICI Student Award Committee is pleased to announce that the Women's Chemists Committee has agreed to cosponsor this and future symposia. It is our expectation that this cosponsorship will result in greater recognition of the symposium by potential applicants, and by the overall ACS community.
*Thomas D. Hahn, National Starch, 2003 Committee Chair
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