Frank Bates (IRG1) will give the Institute Lecture at the 2012 AIChE Annual Meeting. This is the main plenary lecture of the annual meeting. The AIChE annual meeting will be held in Pittsburgh from October 28-November 2nd, 2012 and the Institute Lecture is scheduled for 11:15 am on Wednesday, October 31, 2012.

The Awards Committee of the Minnesota Section (ACS) selected Prof. Timothy P .Lodge, University of Minnesota, as the winner of the Minnesota Award for 2012. This Award is given every three years to a section member for outstanding contributions to chemistry. Prof. Lodge was recognized for his distinguished contributions to the field of polymer science, especially in polymer dynamics and in the phase behavior of block copolymers.

Frisbie was selected for his work on Materials and Process Design for Flexible, Next Generation Electronics.
More on the Mcknight Professorship at OVPR

Wang was selected for his work on Magnetic Materials and Spintronic Devices for Information Storage and Computing and Molecular Diagnostics. More on the Mcknight Professorship at OVPR

As the 2011 Turner Alfrey Visiting Professor, Prof. Lodge will give a course entitled Block Copolymer Self-Assembly: The Flexible Route to New Functional Materials. Lodge will present to local scientists and other interested parties May 16 through 19 Read More

Marc Hillmyer (IRG1) was recently profiled by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) Research News Online Read More on Research News Online

Marc Hillmyer of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, unveiled his group's "reaction-induced self-assembly method" as a modular approach for engineering multifunctional, multicomponent block polymers to serve as nanoporous membranes for drug delivery, water filtration, and separations applications. Read More on ACS Chemical & Engineering News

Marc Hillmyer has received the 2011 Carl S. Marvel Creative Polymer Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society, Division of Polymer Chemistry. The award recognizes the "accomplishments and/or innovation of unusual merit in the field of basic or applied polymer science by younger scientists". The award will be presented at the ACS Polymer Chemistry Division Spring meeting in March 2011.

Prof. Frank Bates and his graduate students Sangwoo Lee and Mike Bluemle discovered a Frank-Kasper sigma phase, a crystal approximant to a dodecagonal quasicrystal, in block copolymer melts. Their discovery was reported in the October 15th issue of Science (S. Lee, M.J. Bluemle and F.S. Bates, "Discovery of a Frank-Kasper Sigma Phase in Sphere-Forming Block Copolymer Melts," Science 330, 349-353, 2010). Bates discussed their findings on NPR's Morning Edition Story and Audio at NPR

The ACS fellows program recognizes members of ACS for "outstanding achievements in and contributions to Science, the Profession, and the Society".

Tim Lodge has been awarded the 2009 SPSJ International Award from the Society of Polymer Science, Japan for his excellent contribution to polymer science. The award is the society's highest award. The Award was presented at the SPSJ annual meeting in Yokohama, Japan- May 2010

Frank Bates was among two hundred and twenty-nine leaders in the sciences, social sciences, the humanities, the arts, business and public affairs to be elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The new Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members join one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.
Established in 1780 by John Adams and other founders of the nation, the Academy undertakes studies of complex and emerging problems. Its membership of scholars and practitioners from many disciplines and professions gives it a unique capacity to conduct a wide range of interdisciplinary, long-term policy research. Current projects focus on science and technology; global security; social policy and American institutions; the humanities and culture; and education.Read more at amacad.org/

March Hillymer was named a 2010 recipient of the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship. This award recognizes and rewards the University's most outstanding mid-career faculty. Read More at OVPR site

Aimee Blanchette of the Minneapolis Star Tribune recently visited the Physics Force during their annual Physics Circus performances at Northrop auditorium. The Physics Circus performances run through January 12 with a free public performance at 2:00 pm on January 10. Watch the Physics Circus video on StarTribune.com

Prof. Aydil has been awarded The Ronald L. and Janet A. Christenson Chair in Renewable Energy effective January 1, 2010.

Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers for efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. Hillmyer was awarded the honor for outstanding contributions to the field of biorenewable polymers, particularly for using block copolymers to control properties and structure on the nanoscale.

Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers for efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. Norris was awarded the honor for distinguished contributions to the field of semiconducting nanocrystals and photonic crystals.

Prof. Eray Aydil was awarded the 2009 Plasma Prize of the AVS Plasma Science and Technology Division at the 56th International Symposium of the AVS. Aydil received the award for his pioneering work on the characterization of plasma species and their energy distributions in plasma assisted deposition and etching of materials.

This honor is granted to those who have been recognized for their outstanding contributions in the fields of mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, and petrology.

Citation: For outstanding theoretical contributions to the fields of semiflexible polymer rheology, block copolymer thermodynamics, and membrane-forming surfactant systems. List of 2009 APS Fellows

Chris Douglas was chosen as a Journal Awardee for 2010 by the Synlett and Synthesis publications. Individuals are defined as promising young professors at the beginning of their career.

Kevin Dorfman has been awarded a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award for 2009, which provides two years of funding to support his research on nanofluidic methods for manipulating and analyzing DNA.

Read more at asme.org

Efie Kokkoli has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award for her work on "Design and Characterization of Aptamer-Amphiphiles for Selective Binding". The CAREER is the National Science Foundation's most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research.

The objective of the PREM program is to broaden participation of under-represented groups and enhance diversity in materials research and education. The objective is achieved by encouraging formal, long-term, multi-investigator, collaborative research and education partnerships between women- and minority-serving colleges and universities, colleges and universities dedicated to educating a majority of students with disabilities, and NSF Division of Materials Research (DMR)-supported centers and facilities.

The focus of this five-year effort, led by Professor Karen Lozano of UTPA, is (1) to explore nanoparticle-based materials including laser-induced aggregation of nanocrystallites, and nanoparticles-in-photonic crystal material system for the application of photovoltaic solar cell, (2) to explore soluble conjugated polymers for spin-processable, low cost, plastic light emitting, and to explore conjugated-polymer-in-photonic crystal system as a low-threshold laser, (3) to develop self-healing polymeric materials with block copolymers as key ingredients to ultimately produce smart flexible materials, (4) to explore functionalized nanoporous materials for the application of mechanical - to - interfacial energy conversion, to develop new strategies on green chemistry and (5) to explore the science of nanoreinforced polymeric composite (NRPC)-thin film and metal-thin film (made of NRPC) interface through a combination of materials and deposition methods to improve the mechanical properties materials capable of shielding electromagnetic interference.
(http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115515&org=OLPA&from=news)

In 2009, the American Chemical Society announced its first class of 163 ACS Fellows. These ACS members were selected as Fellows based on their contributions to the chemical sciences and outstanding service to ACS. read more on ACS.org

Aaron Massari has received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support his research employing two-dimensional infrared vibrational echo spectroscopy (2D-IR VES) to understand how the molecular motions within conducting polymers influence the mobilities of electrical charges. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

Distinguished McKnight University and Lloyd H. Reyerson Professor Timothy P. Lodge has been selected to receive the ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry. Sponsored by ExxonMobil Chemical Co., this national award acknowledges the impact in basic science of a researcher's body of work in the broad field of polymer chemistry on our global needs for advanced polymeric systems and materials. Tim joins an elite group of previous awardees (for list, see http://tinyurl.com/ACSpolymer). His award will be presented at the 239th ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, CA in March 2010.

Washington D.C.- Tim Lodge of the University of Minnesota has been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow. Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. This year 486 members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

As part of the Chemistry Section of the AAAS, Tim Lodge was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of polymer science, especially in polymer dynamics and in the phase behavior of block copolymers.

Lee Penn has been named a McKnight Presidential Fellow of the University of Minnesota. The McKnight Presidential Fellows Program is targeted at the most promising faculty who have been newly granted tenure and promotion to associate professor, to recognize their accomplishments and support their ongoing research and scholarship.

Citation: For the application of elegant optical and transport techniques to the study of spin dynamics and transport in metals and semiconductors and experiments probing the excitation spectra of inhomogeneously magnetized systems, particularly magnetic vortices.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that University of Minnesota chemistry assistant professor Christy Haynes is a recipient of the prestigious 2008 New Innovator Award. She is the first U of M faculty member to win this award which will provide $1.5 million over five years for her research to build a cell-by-cell human immune system to identify potential therapeutic approaches for treating allergic reactions and asthma. Read UMN IT News Item

Chris Leighton was recently selected as the "Emerging Leader Lecturer" at the University of California Santa Barbara Materials Department. Chris delivered a joint Materials Department / Materials Research Laboratory colloquium entitled "Tunable spin polarization in (Co,Fe)S2: Engineering half-metallic ferromagnets".

Jean-Luc Bredas was honored by the Materials Research Society with the lifeime title of Fellow of the Materials Research Society during its 2008 MRS Spring Meeting "For seminal contributions to the theoretical understanding and design of new organic materials for electronics and photonics."
The title of MRS Fellow honors MRS members who are notable for their distinguished accomplishments and their outstanding contributions to the advancement of materials research, worldwide.

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) has elected Renata Wentzcovitch as a Fellow. Each year only one in each thousand members is elected to this honor. An award ceremony for honorees will be held in May 2008 in Florida at the AGU Joint Assembly Meeting. The AGU describes itself as, "A worldwide scientific community that advances, through unselfish cooperation in research, the understanding of Earth and space for the benefit of humanity."

The Regents Professor position was established in 1965 by the Board of Regents to recognize the national and international prominence of faculty members. It serves as the highest recognition for faculty who have made unique contributions to the quality of the University of Minnesota through exceptional accomplishments in teaching, research and scholarship or creative work, and contributions to the public good. Read UMN News Item

Professor Uwe R. Kortshagen has been appointed as head of the University of Minnesota's Department of Mechanical Engineering effective July 1, 2008. He replaces James Ramsey, who has served as acting head of the department for the last year. Kortshagen, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor, has been a faculty member at the University of Minnesota since 1996. He has also served on the graduate faculty for physics, chemical engineering, and materials science and as director of graduate studies for the Department of Mechanical Engineering.Read more

Humboldt Research Award-- Outstanding scientists and scholars from all disciplines from abroad whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in future are eligible to be nominated for a Humboldt Research Award. Award winners are invited to spend a period of up to one year cooperating on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues at a research institution in Germany.

The Office of the Provost and the Graduate School are pleased to announce the new recipients of the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship. The purpose of the Professorship is to recognize and reward our most outstanding mid-career faculty. Recipients are honored with the title Distinguished McKnight University Professor, which they hold for as long as they remain at the University of Minnesota.

The Office of the Provost and the Graduate School are pleased to announce the new recipients of the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship. The purpose of the Professorship is to recognize and reward our most outstanding mid-career faculty. Recipients are honored with the title Distinguished McKnight University Professor, which they hold for as long as they remain at the University of Minnesota.

Prof. Frank Bates is the recipient of the 2008 Sustained Research Prize of the Neutron Scattering Society of America with the citation: For his pioneering SANS experiments that probe the structure and thermodynamics of polymeric fluids and block copolymers. Read more

PSCF solves the Edwards self-consistent field theory (SCFT) for periodic phases formed by liquids containing block copolymers. It is designed to treat incompressible liquids that may contain any mixture of linear block copolymers, homopolymers, and small molecule solvents. It can describe 1, 2, and 3 dimensionally periodic structure structures with any type of unit cell (e.g., cubic, orthorhombic, triclinic, etc.) with any specified space group symmetry. The underlying modified diffusion equation is solved with an efficient pseudo-spectral method. Visit the Morse Group PSCF page

Citation: For pioneering work on the rheology, compatibilization, processing, and properties of polymer blends. Nominated by: Polymer Physics (DPOLY)

The McKnight Presidential Fellows Program is targeted at the most promising faculty who have been newly granted tenure and promotion to associate professor, to recognize their accomplishments and support their ongoing research and scholarship.

Established in 1955, the Regents Professorship is the University's highest recognition for faculty excellence. The award honors faculty whose especially distinguished accomplishments in teaching and scholarship or creative work have contributed uniquely to the University and to the public good.

The National Academy of Sciences today announced the election of 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 12 countries in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The election was held this morning during the business session of the 144th annual meeting of the Academy. Those elected today bring the total number of active members to 2,025. Read complete press release