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UD's Pochan receives John H. Dillon Medal
5:39 p.m., Nov. 27, 2006--Darrin J. Pochan, University of Delaware associate professor of materials science and engineering, has been named the 2007 recipient of the American Physical Society's prestigious John H. Dillon Medal. The Dillon Medal is presented annually in recognition of outstanding research accomplishments to young polymer physicists who have demonstrated exceptional promise early in their careers. “I am very pleased and honored to receive the John H. Dillon Medal,” Pochan said. “This medal is in recognition of work a researcher has done once they have attained a position in academics or industry.” It is particularly meaningful, he said, because the selection committee is comprised of senior peers in the field who must find that the work is significant. Pochan said the committee was impressed with his research team's work in designing molecules for self-assembly in solution. “Our work is in understanding the design and assembly process,” Pochan said. “We are designing polymers and small peptides so that when they are put in solution, they zip up into a desired nanostructure or bulk material.” In addition, Pochan said the committee was appreciative of the interdisciplinary nature of the research. He works closely with the research team of Joel P. Schneider, UD associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, as well as with Karen L. Wooley, professor chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis, and Timothy J. Deming, professor and chairperson of the bioengineering department at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). “We are fortunate to have very good collaborators,” Pochan said. “None of this would be possible without their cooperation.” Pochan also said the award is testament to the hard work of those UD graduate students who performed the research. “I've been fortunate to work with graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who have been nothing short of excellent,” he said. The Dillon Medal was established in 1983 by the American Physical Society and the Division of Polymer Physics and since 1997 has been under the sponsorship of Elsevier, publishers of the journal Polymer. In conjunction with the medal presentation, which will be held in March 2007 during the national American Physical Society meeting in Denver, Pochan will give a keynote lecture and will organize a symposium on his work. Pochan joined the UD faculty in 1999 and was presented the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award in 2004. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin and a doctorate in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts, and did postgraduate research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Article by Neil Thomas |
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