Skip to content

Melissa Grunlan – 2018 PMSE Chair Message

July 6, 2018

Fellow members of PMSE,

As we get closer to the Fall 2018 national meeting in Boston, I would like to “re-introduce” myself as your 2018 Chair of the ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering. I’m excited to serve in this role and be part of a fantastic team of other volunteers, including our officers, councilors and committee members. Together, we will continue to serve our community of polymer scientists and engineers and represent their interests to ACS. The PMSE Division was established in 1924 and has a legacy of service to its members; we will continue this mission together.

Currently, I am Professor and Holder of the Charles H. and Bettye Barclay Professorship in Engineering at Texas A&M University (College Station, TX) with appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering and Chemistry. Since joining the faculty in 2005, I have led a research group that is focused on developing polymeric biomaterial platforms for medical devices having resistance to biological adhesion and for scaffolds useful in regenerative engineering. I have previously served PMSE in range of roles: member-at-large (’13-’14), Secretary (’14-’15), Vice Chair & Programming Chair (’16) and Chair-Elect (’17). I have also co-organized several national meeting PMSE symposia. So, I feel very “at home” with PMSE and am excited for this new role as Chair.

While PMSE’s history is deep, we are an organization that is committed to finding new ways to increase our service to our members. In a time when memberships in professional societies are generally on the decline, the PMSE leadership team is actively looking for ways to enhance to the professional careers of our members and the global vitality of the polymer science and engineering community. This passion is reflected in our mission, vision, and core strengths:

MISSION

To provide a polymer-based forum for the exchange of technical information and foster interactions in materials science and engineering.

VISION

A community of polymer scientists and engineers equipped to solve global challenges.

CORE STRENGTHS

Adaptive technical programming at the cutting-edge of polymer science and engineering

Access to global network of experts in polymer science and engineering

Dedication to the career development of all members

As I mentioned in my “Chair’s Message” in the spring, 2017 brought in some new benefits to our members that we are enjoying in 2018. A big thanks to our past chair, Dr. Christopher Soles, volunteers and partners! A few of these include:

New PMSE Website:

https://pmsedivision.org/.

Joining or renewing your PMSE membership here. We encourage you to keep your PMSE membership current – there is strength in numbers.

New Recognition for Student Members:

PMSE Global Outstanding Student Award in Polymer Science & Engineering: This award is supported by Chemical Marketing & Economics Topical Group of the ACS’s New York Section (CME) along with a company partner and recognizes outstanding students from around the world.

We continue to recognize our student members through various awards, including: Best Poster Awards, Graduate Student Travel Award, Eastman Chemical Student Award, and Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Chemistry.

New Recognition for Professional Members:

PMSE Young Investigators: The 2017 PMSE Young Investigator Symposium, awarded the Innovative Project Grant, was held at the Spring National ACS Meeting. The PMSE Young Investigator Committee (Campos and Garcia) will continue to lead annual efforts to recognize and support our young investigators.

‘Chemistry of Materials’ Lectureship and Best Paper Award: This award is sponsored by the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials, in collaboration with the PMSE and Inorganic Chemistry Divisions. It recognizes the collaborative efforts of authors of an article published in the journal that year.

‘Bioconjugate Chemistry’ Lectureship Award: This award is sponsored by the ACS journal Bioconjugate Chemistry. It recognizes outstanding researcher for important recent advances in interfacing synthetic and biological systems.

We continue to recognize our professional members through various awards, including: Arthur K. Doolittle Award, Cooperative Research Award, Distinguished Service Award, Journal of Polymer Science Award and Roy W. Tess Award. We also continue to have a new class of PMSE Fellows each year and also nominate individuals for consideration of ACS Fellow.

2018 is shaping up to be a great year for PMSE.

Congratulations to the PMSE/POLY Student Chapter at University of South Carolina for winning the “PMSE Membership Drive”. They will receive $300 for their chapter activities!

We currently have eight chapters:  Case Western Reserve University, The University of Akron, University of Florida, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, The University of South Carolina, Virginia Tech and The University of Southern Mississippi. To find out more about starting a chapter, please visit: https://pmsedivision.org/student-chapters/

Spring 2018 National Meeting (New Orleans):

PMSE had 16 symposia including several in honor of ACS National Award and PMSE Award Winners:

Paula Hammond: ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science Symposium

Elsa Reichmanis: ACS Award in Chemistry of Materials Symposium

Grant Willson: ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry Symposium

David Schiraldi: Advances in Macromolecular Science and Engineering Symposium

Bruce Chase and John F. Robolt: Cooperative Research Award Symposium

The Joint PMSE/POLY Plenary Lecture and Award Ceremony honored the achievements of several individuals:

Zhean Bao: Plenary Lecture

Christopher Soles: PMSE Past Chair

David Schiraldi: Distinguished Service Award

Brian Benicewicz, Jay Dias, Christopher Stafford and Shu Yang: 2018 PMSE Fellows

Bruce Chase and John F. Robolt: Cooperative Research Award

Brett Fors and David Kaplan: Doolittle Award (2017)

Ryan Mondschein (Virginia Tech): Eastman Chemical Student Award in Applied Polymer Science (2017)

Farihah Haque (Tulane); Akinwunmi Joaquim (Tennessee State); John Vergara (Drexel): PMSE Best Student Posters

Symone Cook-Alexander (Case Western Reserve); Jennifer Imbrogno (UT-Austin): PMSE Graduate Student Travel Awards

Fall 2018 National Meeting (Boston):

PMSE will have an impressive 22 symposia for this meeting!

  • Advances in Bioconjugate Materials for Biomedical Applications
  • Advances in Space Exploration: Second ACS NASA Symposium
  • Bioconjugate Chemistry Lectureship and Award Symposium in Honor of Wolfgang J. Parak
  • Chemistry of Materials Lectureship and Best Paper Award in Honor of  Darren I. Lipomi, Mohammad A. Alkhadra & Samuel E. Root (CO-SPONSORED WITH INORG)
  • Designing Polymers for Function in Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices (CO-SPONSORED WITH ENFL)
  • Dynamic Bonds for Structurally Precise Polymeric Materialse
  • Eastman Chemical Student Award in Applied Polymer Science
  • General Papers/New Concepts in Polymeric Materials
  • Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Chemistry in Honor of Aleksandr. V. Zhukhovitskiy (CO-SPONSORED WITH POLY)
  • Joint PMSE/POLY Poster Session.
  • Journal of Polymer Science Award Symposium  in Honor of Rachel O’Reilly
  • Multifunctional Nanocomposites and Surface Damage Phenomena in Polymers
  • PMSE Future Faculty Symposium https://pmsedivision.org/2018/04/pmse-future-faculty-symposium-in-boston-scholars-announced/
  • PMSE Young Investigator Symposium http://caslabs.case.edu/pentzer/pmse-yi-2018/
  • Polymer Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CO-SPONSORED WITH CHINESE CHEMICAL SOCIETY (CCS)-POLYMER DIVISION (PD))
  • Porous Polymers (CO-SPONSORED WITH POLY)
  • Probing Structure and Morphology of Polymers and Polymer Composites in Real and Reciprocal Space
  • Roy W. Tess Award: Symposium in Honor of Christopher Bowman
  • Stereotypical Enhancement of Materials Properties
  • Surface, Interface, and Coating Materials (CO-SPONSORED WITH POLY and COLL)
  • Tough and Toughened Polymers
  • What’s Next:  Synthesis, Processing, and Device Engineering of Polymeric Electronic Materials

We are pleased that Dr. Timothy J. Bunning from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory  (AFRL) will deliver the plenary lecture at the PMSE/POLY Joint Plenary Lecture and Award Ceremony on Wednesday August 22 in Boston. Dr. Bunning has made significant contributions in the areas of responsive optical, electro-optical and photo-optical structured organic and hybrid materials and approaches for utility in optical sensing, laser beam control and filtering (modulation) applications. Among his many honors and recognitions, he is a Fellow of ACS and currently serves as PMSE’s Treasurer.

Thank you to all of our organizers and sponsors for the Boston meeting!

If you would like to propose a PMSE symposium for a national ACS meeting, please contact our Technical Programming Committee.

PMSE is always interested in cultivating the next generation of leadership to move our Division forward. If you are interested in participating in our efforts and get involved, please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of our team. We would love to hear from you.

Finally, the PMSE leadership is passionate and dedicated to the service of our members. We welcome positive feedback and suggestions for improvement! As your 2018 Chair, I welcome you to contact me directly (mgrunlan@tamu.edu; 979-845-2406) if you have suggestions on how we can better achieve our mission.

Sincerely,

Melissa A. Grunlan


February 9, 2018

Fellow members of PMSE,

I would like to introduce myself as your 2018 Chair of the ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering. I’m excited to serve in this role and be part of a fantastic team of other volunteers, including our officers, councilors and committee members. Together, we will continue to serve our community of polymer scientists and engineers and represent their interests to ACS. The PMSE Division was established in 1924 and has a legacy of service to its members; we will continue this mission together.

Currently, I am Professor and Holder of the Charles H. and Bettye Barclay Professorship in Engineering at Texas A&M University (College Station, TX) with appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering and Chemistry. Since joining the faculty in 2005, I have led a research group that is focused on developing polymeric biomaterial platforms for medical devices having resistance to biological adhesion and for scaffolds useful in regenerative engineering. I have previously served PMSE in range of roles: member-at-large (’13-’14), Secretary (’14-’15), Vice Chair & Programming Chair (’16) and Chair-Elect (’17). I have also co-organized several national meeting PMSE symposia. So, I feel very “at home” with PMSE and am excited for this new role as Chair.

While PMSE’s history is deep, we are an organization that is committed to finding new ways to increase our service to our members. In a time when memberships in professional societies are generally on the decline, the PMSE leadership team is actively looking for ways to enhance to the professional careers of our members and the global vitality of the polymer science and engineering community. This passion is reflected in our mission, vision, and core strengths:

MISSION

To provide a polymer-based forum for the exchange of technical information and foster interactions in materials science and engineering.

VISION

A community of polymer scientists and engineers equipped to solve global challenges.

CORE STRENGTHS

  • Adaptive technical programming at the cutting-edge of polymer science and engineering
  • Access to global network of experts in polymer science and engineering
  • Dedication to the career development of all members

I would like to take moment to personally thank our past chair, Dr. Christopher Soles, for his dedicated service as your 2017 Chair. Chris was instrumental in bringing forth new benefits to our members in 2017. Through his efforts, our PMSE committee members, volunteers and with partnerships with other organizations, we have been recently able to provide some new benefits to our members. A few of these include:

New PMSE Website:

  • https://pmsedivision.org/.
  • (Note: The former website will be retained as an archive.)
  • Contains news about our members, awards, meeting information, resources and more.
  • Joining or renewing your PMSE membership. We encourage you to keep your PMSE membership current – there is strength in numbers.

PMSE/POLY Student Chapters:

  • Chapters have been established at Case Western Reserve University, University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), University of Florida, University of South Carolina, University of Michigan and University of Southern Mississippi.
  • We hope to see more student chapters in 2018!

New Recognition for Student Members:

  • PMSE Global Outstanding Student Award in Polymer Science & Engineering: This award is supported by Chemical Marketing & Economics Topical Group of the ACS’s New York Section (CME) along with a company partner and recognizes outstanding students from around the world.
  • We continue to recognize our student members through various awards, including: Best Poster Awards, Graduate Student Travel Award, Eastman Chemical Student Award, and Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Chemistry.

New Recognition for Professional Members:

  • PMSE Young Investigators: The 2017 PMSE Young Investigator Symposium, awarded the Innovative Project Grant, was held at the Spring National ACS Meeting. The 2017 Symposium was co-organized by Luis Campos (Columbia University) and Jeannette Garcia (IBM Research – Almaden) featured 24 international young scientists from academia, industry, and National Labs. The PMSE Young Investigator Committee (Campos and Garcia) will continue to lead annual efforts to recognize and support our young investigators.
  • ‘Chemistry of Materials’ Lectureship and Best Paper Award: This award is sponsored by the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials, in collaboration with the PMSE and Inorganic Chemistry Divisions. It recognizes the collaborative efforts of authors of an article published in the journal that year.
  • ‘Bioconjugate Chemistry’ Lectureship Award: This award is sponsored by the ACS journal Bioconjugate Chemistry. It recognizes outstanding researcher for important recent advances in interfacing synthetic and biological systems.
  • We continue to recognize our professional members through various awardsincluding: Arthur K. Doolittle Award, Cooperative Research Award, Distinguished Service Award, Journal of Polymer Science Award and Roy W. Tess Award. We also continue to have a new class of PMSE Fellows each year and also nominate individuals for consideration of ACS Fellow.

Robust Programming:

  • We have a great schedule of PMSE symposia lined up for national meetings: Spring in New Orleans (16 symposia!) and Fall in Boston (22 symposia!). We are proud to co-sponsor other divisional symposia as well.
  • In 2017, we were please to build our connections to groups in other parts of the world with the annual Joint Symposium on Frontiers in Polymer Science & Engineering with the Chinese Chemical Society Polymer Division (ACS-PMSE/CCS-PD) (held in China in 2017), Biomaterials Science and Translational Medicine symposium (held at the ACS national meeting in Washington, DC and co-sponsored by the Chinese Association of Biomaterials), and the Pan-American Polymer Science Conference with ACS Brazil Chapter (held in Brazil in 2017).

If you would like to propose a PMSE symposium for a national ACS meeting, please contact our Technical Programming Committee. The diversity of our committee members – from industry, academia and government – reflect that of our members and their interests. We encourage individuals from all sectors, including our foreign members, to organize PMSE symposia. PMSE is committed to making this a comfortable process by providing administrative help as well as financial support for selected symposia. From personal experience and feedback from fellow organizers, it is a rewarding experience!

The 2018 PMSE Technical Programming Committee members are:

PMSE is always interested in cultivating the next generation of leadership to move our Division forward. If you are interested in participating in our efforts and get involved, please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of our team. We would love to hear from you.

Finally, the PMSE leadership is passionate and dedicated to the service of our members. We welcome positive feedback and suggestions for improvement! As your 2018 Chair, I welcome you to contact me directly (mgrunlan@tamu.edu; 979-845-2406) if you have suggestions on how we can better achieve our mission.

Sincerely,

Melissa A. Grunlan

Texas A&M University
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Department of Chemistry
5030 Emerging Technologies Building
College Station, TX 77840-3120