Student Hosted Colloquia: Professor Marc Hillmyer, University of Minnesota

Student Hosted Colloquia: Professor Marc Hillmyer, University of Minnesota (Host: JD Feist)

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About the Seminar

"Sustainable aliphatic polyester elastomers"

In this presentation I will discuss our efforts utilizing the controlled ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters to prepare aliphatic polyester materials that are suitable ingredients for high-performance elastomers. Strategies employing block polymers, chemical cross-linking and polyurethanes will be covered. Keys to the long-term sustainability of these materials include identifying biobased feedstocks for the monomers, simple, efficient, and green polymerizations, molecular architectures that lead to competitive mechanical performance, and facile chemical or biodegradation at the end of life. I will highlight our efforts along these lines and make the case that economically-viable solutions to the current petroleum-derived and non-degradable elastomers are achievable.

About the Speaker

Marc Hillmyer received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Florida in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1994. After completing a postdoctoral research position in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science he joined the Chemistry faculty at Minnesota in 1997. He is currently the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Chemistry and leads a research group focused on the synthesis and self-assembly of multifunctional polymers. In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Marc served as an associate editor for the ACS journal Macromolecules from 2008-2017 and is currently the editor-in-chief of Macromolecules. He is also the director of the Center for Sustainable Polymers headquartered at the University of Minnesota, a National Science Foundation Center for Chemical Innovation.