Brett Fors, professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, has received the 2024 Macro Letters/Biomacromolecules/Macromolecules Young Investigator Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS).
The award recognizes two outstanding early career investigators conducting research in any area of fundamental polymer or biopolymer science.
Fors, whose group develops synthetic methods to precisely control polymer structure to make next-generation materials, was selected for this award for his creative contributions to externally controllable polymerization catalysts, controlling molar mass distribution of polymers and new approaches to polymer recycling, according to ACS.
“One challenge that I am particularly interested in is the development of sustainable and recyclable polymeric materials,” Fors said. “Recently my group has been focusing on developing user-friendly polymerizations that can be routinely used by individuals who are not experts in synthetic polymer methods.”
Fors and his colleagues hope to make powerful chemical processes that polymer chemists use regularly more accessible to the rest of the community. This work addresses one of the multiple “grand challenges” that must be addressed in this area of research, Fors said.
He will be honored, along with co-winner Sarah Perry of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, at ACS Fall 2024 in Denver, August 18-22.
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