The editors of the Journal of Polymer Science and the Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) are delighted to present the 2023 Journal of Polymer Science Innovation Award to Dr. Emily Pentzer.
Emily Pentzer is an Associate Professor in the department of chemistry and the department of materials science and engineering at Texas A&M University. She received a BS in chemistry from Butler University (2005) and PhD in chemistry from Northwestern University (2010), where her thesis focused on preparing and polymerizing unsaturated lactones and lactams. She then worked with Professor Todd Emrick in the Polymer Science and Engineering Department at UMass Amherst where she focused on the synthesis and assembly of electronically active materials for organic photovoltaics. In 2013, Dr. Pentzer started her independent career as an assistant professor of chemistry at Case Western Reserve University and she moved to Texas A&M in 2019.
The Pentzer Lab’s research centers on developing new polymeric materials and assemblies as a route to understand structure-property-application relationships and access functions not possible with current state-of-the-art systems. Her group works on the encapsulation of “active” liquids and gases, designing and synthesizing new polymer chemistries, and developing feedstocks for additive manufacturing to produce multifunctional materials. Dr. Pentzer regularly participates in events aimed at professional development of students and post-docs and facilitating their transition to vibrant STEM careers. She has received several awards including the NSF CAREER award (2016), PMSE Young Investigator Award (2017), CWRU Faculty Diversity Excellence Award (2019), ACS WCC Rising Star Award (2021), and was named a Texas A&M Presidential Impact Fellow (2021) and finalist for the Blavatnik Award in physical sciences and engineering (2022). She serves as an Associate Editor for Polymer Chemistry and served as Alternate Councilor for the Polymer Division (POLY) of the American Chemical Society from 2020-2022. In 2023, she was named Editor in Chief of the new journal for the Royal Society of Chemistry: RSC Applied Polymers.
PMSE congratulates Prof. Pentzer on her accomplishments to date and looks forward to contributions in the future. Her professor profile can be found at The Texas A&M University webpage, and her research group website at https://epentzer.wixsite.com/pentzerlab