As part of PMSE mission, MACRO is supported through both volunteer hours and logistical support wherever possible to help communication polymer chemistry within academics. The following PMSE members were honored with their contribution to teach polymers by being awared the James Flack Norris Award.
The James Flack Norris Award is given by the Northeast Section of the American Chemical Society (NESACS) and is the first national award to recognize excellence in the teaching of chemistry. The honorees are being recognized for the development of MACRO (Macromolecular Alliance for Community Resources and Outreach) and for its sustained and impactful contributions to the community, particularly in advancing education, outreach, and professional development. The MACRO Team will be recognized for their achievement at the NESACS’ Annual Awards Banquet and Ceremony on November 13, 2025. More on NESACS can be found at https://www.nesacs.org/
PHILIP COSTANZO
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Prof. Costanzo graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2001 with a BS in Chemistry. As an undergraduate, he worked for Prof. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski for three years preparing materials via Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization. He then received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Timothy Patten at University of California at Davis, where he focused upon polymer and nanoparticle synthesis. He was awarded a National Research Council Postdoctoral fellowship at the Army Research Laboratory. As a post-doc, he worked in the weapons and materials division developing new materials for wide range of applications. He joined California Polytechnic State University in 2007 and is currently a Professor. His research focuses upon the development of structure-property relationships by exploiting simple and efficient methodology, such as Diels-Alder chemistry, to create dynamic and stimuli-responsive materials.
DOMINIK KONKOLEWICZ
Miami University
Dominik Konkolewicz completed his PhD (2011) at the University of Sydney. He did his postdoctoral research at Carnegie Mellon University from 2011-2014. In 2014, Dominik joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Miami University in Oxford OH (USA) as an Assistant Professor, with promotion to Associate Professor in 2019, full professor in 2022, and University Distinguished Professor in 2025. The graduate and undergraduate students in the Konkolewicz group focus on radical polymerization mechanisms, dynamically bonded polymers, photopolymerization, bioconjugates, and polymer based self-assembly. Dominik serves as the advisor for ~8 graduate students, and ~15 undergraduate students throughout the year. Dominik teaches graduate courses in topical fields such as the Chemistry of Polymers and plastics, and undergraduate courses in Organic Chemistry and Research Methods. Working with the POLY and PMSE divisions, Dominik co founded the Macromolecular Alliance for Community, Resources and Outreach (MACRO) in 2019, together with Philip Costanzo and Elizabeth Sterner. MACRO develops freely accessible instructional, professional development, and outreach resrouces for the broad polymer and ACS community.
ELIZABETH STERNER
Lebanon Valley College
Dr. Elizabeth S. Sterner has been a professor of chemistry at Lebanon Valley College since 2016. She teaches general chemistry, including a special first-year lab for chemistry and biochemistry majors, advanced organic chemistry (team-taught with other faculty), and a first-year writing course on science communication. Her undergraduates-only research group explores upcycling food waste into food handling materials and determining reactions in protective lacquers for metal museum objects. She has a B.S. Chem. From Creighton University and PhD in Pol. Sci. & Eng. from UMass Amherst.