PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
October 29, 2009 |
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| Rubber Division, ACS Announces
2010 Science & Technology Award Winners |
Akron, OH - 10/29/09 - During the Rubber Expo in Pittsburgh PA, the Rubber Division, ACS announced the five distinguished individuals who will be honored for their significant achievements in rubber science and technology. Awards will be presented to the winners during the Science & Technology Awards luncheon at the 177th Technical Meeting in Akron OH on April 26-28, 2010.
Dr. Edward N. Kresge, a pioneer in the development of EPDM rubbers, has been chosen for the 2010 Charles Goodyear Medal. This award is the most prestigious award given by the Rubber Division, ACS and it honors an individual for outstanding invention, innovation or development which resulted in significant change or contribution to the nature of the rubber industry. Kresge obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Florida before joining Exxon in 1961. He maintained an active laboratory research program during his 32 years with the company. His work at Exxon involved all aspects of synthetic elastomer development. He was the chief polymer scientist for ExxonMobil Chemical for over 15 years and jointly, for four years, the polymer science leader for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering. Kresge's elastomer research and technical leadership in collaboration with co-workers has led to several major innovations in the rubber industry, including EP viscosity index modifiers, polyolefin thermoplastic elastomers and "tailored MWD" EPDM elastomers. His selection of norbornene as the termonomer of choice for ethylene-propylene diene elastomers has proven significant. This choice defined the future and chemistry of EPDMs for decades.
Dr. Jacques W.M. Noordermeer will be the recipient of the 2010 George S. Whitby Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research. The award, sponsored by Cabot, honors outstanding international teachers of chemistry and polymer science, and recognizes innovative research, as well as outstanding contributions to the integration of chemistry and polymer science into our educational system. Noordermeer is currently a full time professor of elastomer technology and engineering at the Technical University of Twente in the Netherlands. The research activities of Dr. Noordermeer as head of the Elastomer Technology and Engineering Department at the University of Twente over the past decade have focused on a variety of elements of rubber technology, including mechanisms of rubber reinforcement, crosslinking chemistry, rubber recycling and reuse, and thermoplastic elastomers.
Professor William (Wim) J. van Ooij of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Cincinnati, is the 2010 winner of the Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award. The award, sponsored by Lion Copolymer, honors a Rubber Division member or affiliate member who has exhibited exceptional technical competency by making significant and repeated contributions to rubber science and technology. He is being recognized for his contributions to the understanding and developments of many of the discoveries in the past 30 years of rubber-to-metal bonding. In particular, van Ooij made significant contributions to corrosion control of metals by organic coatings, developed foundations of chemical interaction of silanes with metal surfaces and made excellent contributions to surface analysis of materials
Dr. James Busfield, head of the Rubber Research Group in the Department of Materials at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) will be receiving the 2010 Sparks-Thomas Award. This award, sponsored by ExxonMobil Chemical, is to recognize and encourage outstanding scientific contributions and innovations in the field of elastomers by younger scientists, technologists and engineers. Dr. Busfield has used innovative applications of finite element analysis (FEA) for producing a clearer understanding of the micro-mechanics of rubber materials. He has used FEA to study the reinforcing effects of filler particles, the abrasion process, and the strength and fatigue of rubber. He has also contributed to understanding the strain-dependence of the electrical properties of carbon black filled rubber; this has led to the prospect of the development of reliable and very sensitive strain gauges.
Rudi Faust, professor of chemistry in the department of chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, will be the 2010 recipient of the Chemistry of Thermoplastic Elastomers Award. The award, sponsored by the Ralph S. Graff Foundation, honors significant contributions to the advancement of the chemistry of thermoplastic elastomers. Professor Faust pioneered living carbocationic polymerization, a terminationless and transferless process for the polymerization of alkenes. His research is directed toward the synthesis, characterization and properties of new specialty polymers, new thermoplastic elastomers based on block and graft copolymers, functional polymers by in situ functionalization reactions and organic-inorganic hybrid materials.
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The Rubber Division, ACS is a professional non-profit association dedicated to enhancing science, technology, and business across the evolving elastomeric community. The Rubber Division's mission is to expand the elastomeric profession and individual development through educational, technical, and interactive activities. For more information about the Rubber Division and its activities, visit www.rubber.org.
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Contact: Karen May, Marketing Manager, kmay@rubber.org, 330-972-7815
Rubber Division, ACS, PO Box 499, Akron OH 44309-0499
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