White awarded $360,000 NSF grant

Friday, May 4, 2012

White awarded $360,000 NSF grant for academic-industrial research in polymer

Dr. Jeffery L. White, professor of chemistry at OSU, has been awarded a three-year, $360,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct research that involves a new class of materials known as gradient copolymers, which are used in many consumer products from cars to housewares.

The project, titled “Defining Dynamic Morphology, Order-Disorder Transitions, and Interfaces in Gradient Copolymers,” seeks to determine how detecting and understanding the molecular level organization of macromolecules can impact production of gradient copolymers. Dr. Joe Zhou, a researcher at Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., is Dr. White’s collaborator. 

White says he also hopes to apply what he learns in research to create bioremedial copolymers, which are copolymers that biodegrade without leaving any harmful residues.

This grant is Dr. White’s fourth from NSF, and when completed will represent 14 years of continuous funding for his basic research in polymer science. The award was made following a competitive peer review process that required merit review from practicing industrial scientists and well as academic scientists.