Marino Xanthos Lecture Series

Plastics
What are they and could we live without them?

Frank S. Bates
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science 
University of Minnesota

Monday, October 12, 2020
2:30 PM
 

Abstract

Plastics
What are they and could we live without them?

Synthetic plastics, discovered less than a century ago, have transformed nearly every facet of our lives. With sales of a half trillion dollars annually the polymer industry has emerged as a dominant factor in the world economy. In general, plastics enhance our standard of living, providing materials that reduce energy consumption, improve health care, and expand access to food, water and clean air. But, as with any new technology, the emergence of products reliant on giant molecules known as macromolecules has been accompanied by various societal challenges, most notably the generation of enormous amounts of waste that clutters our landfills and has the potential to damage the environment. This lecture blends a review of the extraordinary science and engineering that enables plastics to improve our lives and peers into the future when plastics will be engineered to be compatible with a sustainable economy.  

Biography

Frank S. Bates is a Regents Professor and a member of the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science department at the University of Minnesota. He received a B.S. in Mathematics from SUNY Albany and M.S. and Sc.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from MIT. Between 1982 and 1989 Bates was a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ, then joined the University of Minnesota as an Associate Professor. He was promoted to Professor in 1991, named a Distinguished McKnight University Professor in 1996, appointed as a Regents Professor in 2007, and served as Department Head between 1999 and 2014. Bates conducts research across a range of topics related to polymers, with a particular focus on the thermodynamics and dynamics of block copolymers and blends, resulting in nearly 500 peer-reviewed publications. He has been recognized for his work through various awards. In 1988 he was named a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Bell Labs, in 1989 he received the John H. Dillon Medal and in 1997 the Polymer Physics Prize, both from the American Physical Society where he is a Fellow. He won the 2004 David Turnbull Lectureship Award from the Materials Research Society, shared the ACS Cooperative Research Award in 2008, was awarded the 2008 Sustained Research Prize by the Neutron Scattering Society of America, and he was the 2012 Institute Lecturer of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Bates was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2002, the American Academy of Arts and Science in 2010, the National Academy of Sciences in 2017, and the National Academy of Inventors in 2018.

RSVP to Carolina Yanez by Tuesday, October 6, 2020; carolina.p.yanez@njit.edu or 973-596-6451.

About Marino Xanthos

Marino Xanthos, Ph.D. was a professor of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering.  Associate Provost for Graduate Studies, and Senior Technical Advisor to the Polymer Processing Institute (PPI) at NJIT until his passing in the summer of 2013.  Dr. Xanthos earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki and master's and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto, where he studied under Professor R.T. Woodhams.  

After receiving his doctorate in 1974, he joined the research division of Martin Marietta Resources International, where he eventually rose to the position of Research, Development, and Technical Services Manager.  From 1980 to 1986 he served as professor and later as director of Stevens Institute of Technology overseas International Programs Office Department of polymer science, engineering and technology, jointly operated with the Algerian Petroleum Institute.  During the period of 1987 to 1995, he was the research director of the PPI and Stevens Research Professor.  He was appointed professor of chemical engineering at NJIT in 1995, where he served until his passing as Director of the Polymer Engineering Center, Director of the Center of Processing of Plastics Packaging, Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Materials Research Council, Senior Technical Adviser to the PPI at NJIT, and finally Associate Provost for Graduate Studies.

Dr. Xanthos was internationally recognized for his polymer blends, polymer composites and polymer foams expertise, and his studies on polymer modification through the use of functional particulate additives and reactive extrusion processes, which he also applied to the processing of pharmaceutical oral dosage forms. His research work and publications involved Ph.D. and master's students at NJIT and Stevens.  He was also involved with PPI technical staff and industrial colleagues nationally and internationally in the solution of numerous important industrial problems.

Dr. Xanthos became a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) in 2003 and received the NJIT Board of Overseers Harlin J. Perlis Award that same year in recognition of his exemplary scholarship and outstanding research in the field of polymers.  He served as the U.S. representative to the Board of the Polymer Processing Society since 2005.  In 2010, he received the Heinz List Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements in Reactive Processing and Devolatilization.

Dr. Xanthos deeply cared for and was a renowned mentor and advisor to his graduate and undergraduate students.  For many years, he was the advisor and life force of the NJIT student chapter of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE).

This lecture series was established by his family, friends and colleagues to memorialize his accomplishments and love of his chosen field.
 

Previous Lectures

Liquid Crystals - From Simple Self-Assembled Constructs, to Autonomous Materials​

Juan de Pablo Ph.D.
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
University of Chicago
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2019

Functional Polymer Materials Designed for Advanced Applications and Sustainability

Karen L. Wooley, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science & Engineering
Texas A&M University
  

Engineered Silk Proteins for Regenerative Medicine

David L. Kaplan, Ph.D.
Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering
Professor & Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Distinguished University Professor
Tufts University
Director, NIH P41 Resource Center on Tissue Engineering
Editor-in-Chief, ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2017

Breaking Moore's Law, 

Thomas P. Russell, Ph.D.
Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and
Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2016

The Unusual Rheology of Concentrated Suspensions

Morton M. Denn, Ph.D.
Benjamin Levich Institute, City College of New York
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2015