Dr. Grant Willson Receives ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry

Grant Willson in the lab​Dr. Grant Willson, professor of chemical engineering and chemistry and the Rashid Engineering Regents Chair at UT Austin, has been awarded the 2018 ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry.

The award is presented by the American Chemical Society, the largest scientific society in the world, and seeks to recognize outstanding fundamental contributions and achievements in the field of polymer chemistry.

Willson received the award for his research accomplishments and profound discoveries in synthetic methods of unique polymeric materials, which includes the development of a process that is now used to manufacture the world’s microprocessors and memory chips. His work has also helped manufacturers overcome physical obstacles involved in reducing the size of circuits in computer chips and has led to a five-fold increase in storage capacity of hard disk drives.

This award adds to Willson’s many accolades, most notably the Billy and Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award in 2017, the prestigious Japan Prize in 2013 and a 2007 National Medal of Technology.

Willson is considered a leading researcher in materials, contributing to innovations for microelectronics, liquid crystals, computer simulation, nanometer scale structures and more. These discoveries have earned Willson the Inventor of the Year Award from UT Austin, the Semiconductor Industry Association University Research Award and the Sigma Xi Monie A. Ferst Award.

Willson will be honored at the ACS Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in conjunction with the 255th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans.

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