Purpose

The Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Science and Engineering is given to recognize a graduate student or recent graduate who has completed an outstanding Ph.D. thesis in polymeric research.

Nature

The award consists of a plaque, $2,000 honorarium, and travel support to attend the Fall ACS National Meeting in the year of the award. The award winner is invited to participate in a half-day symposium co-organized by the primary nominator and Prof. Mahesh K. Mahanthappa (maheshkm@umn.edu). In addition, the award will be presented at the joint POLY/PMSE awards presentation, typically on Wednesday evening.

History

The award was first awarded in 1991 and is operated under the Polymer Education Committee (POLYED), sponsored by the Polymer Chemistry Division and Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Division. The award has been previously sponsored by Unilever (1991-2003), National Starch (2006-2008) and AzkoNobel (2008-2013). It has since been sponsored by Henkel.

Eligibility

A nominee must be a member or affiliate of the POLY division of ACS and must currently be a PhD candidate or have earned their PhD during the three years prior to January 1 of the award year.

Nominations

Nominees are judged on the basis of their contribution to the thesis research, the quality and level of innovation demonstrated, and the impact of their research on the science and technology of synthetic polymers or biopolymers. Preference will be given to nominees who have not already been recognized by two or more ACS Awards with associated honorary symposia.

Nominators must be a member or affiliate of the POLY division and must be the nominee’s thesis supervisor or someone familiar with the nominee’s work. Nomination packages should be sent by email to Prof. Jessica Kramer (jessica.kramer@utah.edu). The title of the email should be “2020 Henkel Graduate Award” and the following items should be included as a single PDF file by January 25, 2020:

• Nominee’s biography (or curriculum vitae)
• Synopsis of nominee’s work
• Letter of recommendation from thesis advisor
• Optional: relevant publications based on thesis work
• Optional: supporting documents and testimonials

About the Sponsor

Henkel values highly the development of outstanding scientists in the field of polymer science and engineering. Progress in the field is vital for the future development of high performance materials that will enhance current technologies and enable future ones. Thus, Henkel is proud to sponsor this award to demonstrate their commitment recognizing outstanding young scientists.

2019 Award Winner: Dr. Jovan Kamcev

Advised by: Profs. Benny D. Freeman and Donald R. Paul, University of Texas–Austin

The winner of the 2019 Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Science and Engineering is Dr. Jovan Kamcev.  After earning his B.E.’s in Chemical Engineering and Applied Math & Statistics from Stony Brook University in 2012, Kamcev joined the graduate program at the University of Texas–Austin. He earned his Ph.D. in 2016 in Chemical Engineering from the UT-Austin under the supervision of Profs. Benny D. Freeman and Donald R. Paul for combined theoretical and experimental studies of ion and water transport in ion-containing polymer membranes for water and energy applications. Dr. Kamcev is currently is a postdoctoral research associate working with Prof. Jeffrey R. Long in the Department of Chemistry at University of California–Berkeley, where his current research focuses on developing novel porous network polymers for wide-ranging applications, including selective ion removal from aqueous solutions and energy storage.

The 2019 Henkel award will be presented during a symposium in honor of Dr. Kamcev at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Diego, CA, August 25–29, 2019 in the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry. Award nominations are administered through PolyEd, the joint polymer education committee of the ACS Divisions of Polymer Chemistry and Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering, with generous financial support from the Henkel Corporation