PMSE Best Poster Award

PMSE Best Poster Awards recognize outstanding posters presented by an undergraduate and/or graduate students during the PMSE poster session at ACS National Meetings

Spring 2022 Award Winners

Hannah Dedmon
North Carolina State University

Antiplasticizing Interactions Between Biobased Small Molecules and Polyvinyl Alcohol: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

Hannah Dedmon’s passion for sustainable polymer research was sparked in Beirut, Lebanon, where the NC State Wilson College of Textiles alumna was providing relief services to refugees displaced by the Syrian civil war. Unfolding all around her was a waste management crisis, polluting the land and plaguing the people of Lebanon. Having a BS in Textile Technology, she wondered how textile applications could restore and prevent this pollution. Determined to find solutions, this Charlotte, N.C. native enrolled in the Textile Engineering master’s program at N.C. State’s Wilson College of Textiles where she joined the Ford Innovation Team investigating sustainable methods to fabricate high performance fibers from biomass additives, under the advisement of Dr. Ericka Ford. These efforts highlighted the need for a computational approach to elucidate polymer-additive interactions, so she began molecular modeling while co-advised by Dr. Melissa Pasquinelli. Continuing research on sustainable bioplastics, Hannah is now a PhD student in the Fiber and Polymer Science program utilizing data science to study biomass plasticization of cellulose derivatives. Hannah has completed a graduate certificate in Materials Informatics while a fellow of the NSF data-enabled Science and Engineering of Atomic Structures (SEAS) NRT.

Elina Ghimire
University of Chicago

Trainable Soft Materials Using Dynamic Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Elina Ghimire is from a southeastern city in Nepal called Biratnagar. She went to the University of Southern Mississippi for her undergraduate degree where she obtained her Bachelor’s in Polymer Science. During her undergraduate degree, Elina worked with Professor Yaon C. Simon where her project focused on the coassembly behavior of block copolymers in vesicular structures. Currently, Elina is a graduate student in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. She is currently working in Professor Stuart J. Rowan’s group where her project is focused on the study of dynamic liquid crystal elastomers as trainable/adaptable materials. During her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and reading.

Jada Jackman
Drexel University

Interfacial Photopolymerization: Method for High Resolution Digital Processing of Recyclable Thermoplastics

Jada is a chemical engineer who is currently getting her Ph.D. at Drexel University. Her work focuses on 3D printing and polymer characterizations, with herself constructed a 3D printer used for a new 3D printing technique. She completed her B.S. at Lehigh University in chemical engineering as well. When not in the lab, she enjoys dancing, making music, and hanging out with her friends.

Samuel Kopfinger
University of Chicago

Redox Active Particles with Stimuli Responsive Disulfide Crosslinks for Controlled Electrode Cleaning

Sam Kopfinger grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis, MO. There he attended Saint Charles Community College where he later transferred and completed a Bachelors’ Degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Missouri in 2020. During his undergraduate studies, Sam also served 6 years in the United States Marine Corps reserve. He currently is attending the University of Chicago studying applications of polymeric materials in redox flow batteries under Prof. Shrayesh Patel in the Molecular Engineering department.

Amberly Vu
Stanford University

Comparison of Ureteral Stent Biomaterials: Encrustation Profile in Metabolic and Infectious Artificial Urine Models

Amberly recently graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics, where her research focused on gene editing and CRISPR technology. She plans to apply to medical school and continue research as a physician-scientist

Hannah Dedmon, Elena Ghimire, Jada Jackman
Samuel Kopfinger, Amberly Vu

Award Details

Awards will be determined at each National ACS Meeting. Each awardee will each receive a $200 award. Awardees will be acknowledged at the PMSE/POLY Awards Ceremony at the National ACS Meeting.

Nominations

Graduate and undergraduates who present posters under the PMSE division during the PMSE/POLY Joint Poster Session are eligible for the award.

Award Selection

Posters are evaluated by a group of judges, selected by the PMSE Executive Committee, during the poster session. Finalists are identified and awardees selected before the conclusion of the poster session.

Nominations and Award Process

Rules of Eligibility

Graduate and undergraduates who present posters under the PMSE division during the PMSE/POLY Joint Poster Session are eligible for the award.

Award Selection and Award Promotion

Posters are evaluated by a group of judges during the PMSE/POLY Joint Poster Session held during the ACS National Meeting. Finalists are identified and awardees selected before the conclusion of the poster session. Awards are given during ACS National Meetings at the PMSE and POLY evening reception.

Full List of Award Winners

2022 Spring Best Poster Award Winners

Claire Dingwell, University of Minnesota
Regiospecific and linear poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) via the ring-opening metathesis polymerization of 3-acetoxy cyclooctene
Robert Enright, University of Massachusetts
Self-wrinkling polymer films via initiated chemical vapor deposition
Hayden Houck, Western Washington University
Chemical and physical tailoring of guanidine-based covalent adaptable networks
Mara Kuenen, University of Virginia
Connecting molecular features of poly(beta-amino ester)s to their degradation and solution behavior to engineer functional materials with controlled lifetimes
Jasmine Lim, University of Southern Mississippi
Attaining infrared photodetection in devices with narrow bandgap conjugated polymers
Jaylene Martinez, University of Colorado
Bonding of membranes by viscous polymers: Infiltration kinetics and its impact on mechanical integrity of the bonded polymer/membrane structure
Kate McConnell, Western Washington University
Chemical and physical tailoring of guanidine-based covalent adaptable networks
Thivani Senathiraja, Iowa State University
Tuning the intermolecular interactions of sulfonated ionomer via salt in solvent systems

2021 Fall Best Poster Award Winners

Siyu Xiong, University College of London
Chitosan composed electrospun nanofibrous members for indoxyl surface sorption
Nicole Mandel, Columbia University
Rotation and translation of single molecular probes in polystyrene near the glass transition
Michelle Pomatto, Virginia Tech
Morphological control of poly(ether ketone ketone) as a means to tailor blocky functionalization in the gel state
Vinita Shinde Auburn University
Recent advances in microcapsule-based self-healing in high impact polystyrene (HIPS) composites
Cheyenne Liu, University of Southern Mississippi
Forcing single-chain nanoparticle collapse through hydrophobic solvent interactions in comb copolymers
Adam Weiss, University of Chicago
Using rotational polymer design to direct lysosomal rupture, inflammasome activation, and T-cell responsivity

2020 Fall Best Poster Award Winners

Michael Stolberg, MIT
Highly ordered ion conducting polymer electrolytes for decoupled ion transport
Dillan Stengel, San Diego State University
Water-induced beta-sheet crosslinking of alpha-helical-rich spider prey-wrapping silk
Kartik Kumar Rajagopalan and Xiuzhu Zhu, Texas A&M
Temperature-responsive, tunable poly(vinyl alcohol)-borax salogels for shape stabilization of an inorganic phase change materials

2020 Fall Best Poster Award Winners

The American Chemical Society Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) is pleased to announce the winners of the PMSE Best Poster Awards presented at the 2020 ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, CA. Congratulations to Whitney Loo, Chan Ho Park, and Isaac Shin as presenters for the best posters.

Polymer dynamics in block copolymer electrolytes detected by neutron spin echo
Whitney Loo ^¹, Antonio Faraone ²_, Nitash P Balsara ³

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States
MS 6100, National Institute of Standards Tech, Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States
Univ of California, Berkeley, California, United States

Modulating solution viscosity by controlling the polymer morphology in solution from intra- to intermolecular hydrogen bonding [PMSE 357]
Isaac Shin ¹, Myungeun Seo ^1 2 3

Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea (the Republic of)
Department of Chemistry, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea (the Republic of)
KAIST Institute for Nanocentury, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea (the Republic of)

Real-time photothermal sensing and therapy using block copolymer-grafted MoS₂nanocomposites
Chan Ho Park ¹

KAIST, Daejeon, Korea (the Republic of)

2019 Fall Best Poster Award Winners

The American Chemical Society Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) is pleased to announce the winners of the PMSE Best Poster Awards presented at the 2019 ACS National Meeting in San Diego, CA. Congratulations to Diego Luan Bertuzzi, Jessica Cashman, and Yun Liu as presenters for the best posters.

Synthesis and self-assembly of dendrimer-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) block copolymers containing folates for applications in biosensors and drug delivery systems [PMSE 306]
Diego Luan Bertuzzi,^1,2 Catia Ornelas,³ Bradley D Olsen²

Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
Chemical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas – UNICAMP, Campinas SP, Brazil

Increased flexibility in polyimide aerogel substrates for conformal, lightweight antennas [PMSE 328]
Jessica Cashman,¹ Baochau N Nguyen,² Bushara Dosa,¹ Mary Ann Meador¹

NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Ohio Aerospace Institute, North Royalton, Ohio, United States

Lewis pair-mediated ring-opening polymerization of cyclic disulfides: Building high molar mass polymers with dynamic s–s bonds [PMSE 394]
Yun Liu, Yuan Jia, Qiong Wu, Jeffrey Scott Moore

Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology; Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States

2019 Spring Best Poster Award Winners

Increased Thermal Properties of Benzoxazine Polymers Cured with End-group Tosylated Polymers [PMSE 369]

Ayesha Nadeem¹, Emily A. Brown¹, David A. Rider²¹Department of Chemistry and ²Department of Engineering & Design, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA

Fabrication, Optimization, and Analysis of Graphene Oxides Doped Polyvinylidene Flouride Nanocomposite for Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor Application [PMSE 450]

Omari Paul¹, A. Thai¹, A. Joaquin¹, M. Ridley¹, S. Jones¹, C. Bufford¹, A. Falconer¹, A. Smith², A. Ueda³, R. Mu¹, F.R. Williams¹
¹ College of Engineering, Tennessee State University, Tennessee, United States
²Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, United States
³Center for Chemistry and Physics of Materials, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Dynamic Control of Hydrogel Crosslinking Through Reversible Sortase-meditated Transpeptidation [PMSE 500]

Matthew R. Arkenberg¹, Dustin M. Moore², Chien-Chi Lin^1,2

¹ Wheldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
²Department of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

2018 Fall Best Poster Award Winners

Vapor-printed polymers for flexible electronics
PMSE 557

Won Jun Jo¹, Vladimir Bulovic³, Karen Gleason²¹Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States
² Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
³ Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Role of chain-end association life time in segmental and chain dynamics of associating telechelic polymers
PMSE 501

Kunyue Xing¹, Martin Tress¹, Pengfei Cao², Fei Fan¹, Shiwang Cheng², Tomonori Saito², Alexei P. Sokolov^1,2¹ Department of Chemistry, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
²Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Polymerization induced order-order and disorder-order transitions in diblock copolymer-monomer blends
PMSE 459

Everett Zofchak^1,2, Robert Hickey², Jacob LaNasa², Wenwen Mei²¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States
²Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States

2018 Spring Best Poster Award Winners

Exploring “click” chemistry to synthesize and characterize cyclic polyethers
PMSE 366

Farihah Haque, Scott M. Grayson
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Synthesis, mechanical, and structural properties of piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride doped with barium titanate nanoparticles
PMSE 379

Akinwunmi Joaquim, Omari Paul, Robert Turner, Ranganathan Parthasarathy, Lizhi Ouyang, Yuri Barnakov, Frances Williams
Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Effect of phase separation on water barrier properties in epoxy/amine thermosetting polymers
PMSE 444

John Vergara², Ian Donahue², John J La Scala¹, Joshua M Sadler¹, Santosh Kumar Yadav², Giuseppe Palmese²¹Army Research Lab, RDECOM, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, United States;
²Chemical and Biological Engineering, Drexel University, Downingtown, Pennsylvania, United States

2017 Fall Best Poster Award Winners

Fluorinated non-planer precursors for enhanced structural arrangement in two-dimensional (2D) azine-linked covalent organic frameworks PMSE 342

Sampath B. Alahakoon, G.T. McCandless, A. Karunathilake, C. Thompson, R. Smaldone
University of Texas at Dallas, United States

Development of phosphate-presenting citrate-based polymer for orthopaedic applications PMSE 397

Qiyao Li, Jinshan Guo and Jian Yang
Pennsylvania State University, United States

Shrink-wrapped encapsulation of proteins and triggered traceless release through reactive self-assembly approach PMSE 465

Kingshuk Dutta, D. Hu, B. Zhao, A. Ribbe, J. Zhuang, S. Thayumanavan
University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States

2017 Spring Best Poster Award Winners

The American Chemical Society Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) is pleased to announce the winners of the PMSE Best Poster Awards presented at the Spring 2017 ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, CA.

Structural Characterization of Three-Helix Micelle Delivery Platform for Neurological Disease Treatment PMSE 385

Benson Jung, Joo Cuan Ang, and Ting Xu
UC Berkeley, United States

Physical, thermal, electrochemical and fuel cell performance study of sulfonated poly(phenelyne)s /novel branched polysulfone-based polymer blends PMSE 419

Behrooz Motealleh, Timothy Largier, Fei Huang, and Chris Cornelius
University of Nebraska, United States

Micellar thrombin-binding aptamers as reversible nanoscale anticoagulants PMSE 515

Alexander Roloff, Andrea Carlini, and Nathan Gianneschi
UC San Diego, United States

PMSE Best Poster Award