Freeman Named Winner of Roy W. Tess Award in Coatings
Professor Benny D. Freeman will receive the Roy W. Tess Award in Coatings for 2012. The award, given by the Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) of the American Chemical Society (ACS), consists of a $3,000 cash prize and an honorary plaque.
The Tess Award is presented annually in recognition of “outstanding individual achievements and note-worthy contributions to coatings science, technology and engineering.” It is funded by a grant to PMSE from Dr. and Mrs. Roy W. Tess to encourage interest and progress in the field.
Freeman’s research concerns membrane materials science and technology and focuses on the mass transport of small molecules in polymer coatings. Freeman, his students and colleagues have studied structure/property relations for polymer based desalination as well as gas and vapor separation membrane coating materials, new polymer membrane materials for hydrogen separation and natural gas purification, polymer based barrier packaging materials and new polymer coatings for improving fouling resistance of liquid separation membranes.
His work directly intersects many of the grand challenges of our time, such as providing clean water in a more cost-effective and reliable way, and developing energy efficient gas separation membrane coatings based on polymers for carbon capture and a wide range of other separations. Innovations from Freeman’s laboratory have been commercialized and continue to provide the basis for new jobs and economic development.
Freeman will receive the Tess Award from the 2012 chair of the PMSE Division on Monday, August 20, 2012 during the 244th National Meeting of the ACS in Philadelphia, PA. Freeman will present an award address at that time. An evening reception in honor of him and other award winners will be held during the meeting.