IIN Frontiers in Nanotechnology Seminar Series – Geoffrey W. Coates

Professor Geoffrey W. Coates

Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Cornell University

In Pursuit of the Perfect Plastic

Abstract

Society depends on polymeric materials more now than at any other time in history. Although syntheticpolymers are indispensable in a diverse array of applications, ranging from commodity packaging and
structural materials to technologically complex biomedical and electronic devices, their synthesis
and disposal pose important environmental challenges. The focus of the Coates Group’s research
is the development of sustainable routes to polymers that have reduced environmental impact. This lecture
will focus on their research to transition from fossil fuels to renewable resources for polymer synthesis, as well as the development of polymeric materials designed to bring positive benefits to the environment.

Biography

Geoffrey W. Coates received a BA in Chemistry from Wabash College in 1989, a PhD in Organic Chemistry
with Robert Waymouth at Stanford University in 1994, and was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow with Robert
Grubbs at the California Institute of Technology. He joined the Cornell University faculty in 1997, where
he is now the Tisch University Professor. Professor Coates has received several awards, including the
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, ACS Awards in Affordable Green Chemistry and Applied Polymer
Science, and the Carl S. Marvel Creative Polymer Chemistry Award. In 2011, he was identified by
Thomson Reuters as one of the world’s top 100 chemists on the basis of the impact of his scientific
research, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In 2017, he was elected
to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. He is the scientific
cofounder of Novomer and Ecolectro, and is an Associate Editor of Macromolecules.