University of Florida, Gainesville
Center for Macromolecular Science and Engineering - University of Florida Polymer Science Program

2018 Butler Lectureship Series
The CMSE Welcomes Dr. Frank Bates

Dr. Robert Waymouth The Polymer Program at the Department of Chemistry, the George and Josephine Butler Polymer Research Laboratory, and the Center for Macromolecular Science and Engineering are pleased to announce that Dr. Frank Bates will be presenting the 2018 Butler Lectureship Series.

Frank Bates is currently a Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Bates conducts research on a range of topics related to polymers, with a particular focus on the thermodynamics and dynamics of block copolymers and blends. He won the 2004 David Turnbull Lectureship Award from the Materials Research Society, shared the ACS Cooperative Research Award in 2008, and was awarded the 2008 Sustained Research Prize by the Neutron Scattering Society of America. In 1989, Dr. Bates received the Dillon Medal and in 1997 the Polymer Physics Prize, both from the American Physical Society where he is a Fellow. In 2002, Dr. Bates was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering and in 2005, he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Bates received a BS in Mathematics from SUNY Albany in 1976 and an M.S. and a Sc.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 1979 and 1982, respectively.

To learn more about the Butler Lectureship Series and past speakers, click here. You can learn more about Dr. Frank Bates here.

Spring 2018 Seminar Schedule

Seminar 6 - Wednesday, 3/28/18 4:00pm, LEI 309
Scattering of Light, X-rays and Neutrons
This lecture will develop the fundamental principles behind the scattering of radiation from condensed matter and describe the unique and complimentary applications of visible light, x-rays and neutrons to the study of polymer structure.

Seminar 7 - Friday, 3/30/18 12:00pm, LEI 309
Chain Exchange Dynamics in Block Copolymer Micelles
Block copolymers form nanoscale micelles when dispersed in selective solvents at low concentrations. Equilibrating such solutions requires the exchange of polymers between micelles. Time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering experiments have revealed a remarkable sensitivity to molecular weight and molecular architecture, which will be discussed in this lecture.

Seminar 8 - Monday, 4/2/18 4:00pm, LEI 309
Toughening Thermoset Plastics with Block Copolymer Micelles
Thermoset epoxies find numerous applications owing to benefits associated with easily processed liquid resins that cure into hard and durable plastics. However, this class of materials suffers from brittle mechanical behavior. Dispersion of block copolymer micelles can lead to remarkable improvements in toughness, which will be discussed in this lecture.



Seminar 9 - Wednesday, 4/4/18 4:00pm, LEI 309
Sustainable Plastics based on Graft-block Molecular Architectures
Synthetic polymers offer society innumerable benefits that raise our standard of living. However, most plastics end up in a landfill or liter the environment. The development of commercially viable polymers that combine superior performance and competitive cost with sustainability represents a major challenge. This lecture will review recent advances in the application of graft-block molecular architectures, which offer promising solutions to these challenges.

Seminar 10 - Friday, 4/6/18 2:00pm, JHH 221
This series of lectures closes with a presentation that highlights recent discoveries regarding the formation of complex low symmetry Frank-Kasper phases and quasicrystals in simple compositionally asymmetric diblock copolymer melts. I will make the case that the secrets of nature exposed during spontaneous symmetry breaking are most transparently revealed and understood through experiments and theory dealing with block copolymers.



Questions? Click here to contact Dr. Bates.

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