New dean for the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering
Eric J. Amis, Ph.D., has been appointed dean of the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering.
Dr. Amis comes to UA from United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) where he has been Director of Physical Sciences since 2009. He led a team of 140 scientists and engineers responsible for research and development in advanced manufacturing, materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, structural integrity, applied physics and measurement science. His responsibilities included developing external partnerships aligned with UTRC strategies.
Prior to UTRC, Amis spent 15 years in leadership roles at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, including 10 years in the Polymers Division. Before NIST, he was on the faculty in chemistry at the University of Southern California for 11 years. His Ph.D. in chemistry is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Amis is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the Materials Research Society, the American Physical Society, and also the Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Division of the American Chemical Society. He has served as chair of the Division of Polymer Physics of the APS and of the Polymer Chemistry Division of the ACS, and he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Polymer Science: Physics for 11 years. His research specialties are combinatorial and high-throughput methods for advanced materials, nanomaterial characterization, and soft matter physics. He has 151 peer-reviewed publications.
Amis succeeds Stephen Cheng, Ph.D., who will assume a newly created position as the Frank C. Sullivan Distinguished Research Professor. He will expand his research group and acquire equipment necessary to significantly enhance the innovations that have become a hallmark of the college.
Amis will begin his duties July 15.
With five endowed professorships and chairs, the college's distinguished faculty represents one of the largest concentrations of polymer expertise to be found anywhere. This wealth of knowledge draws distinguished visiting faculty and top students from around the world, and has helped establish Northeastern Ohio as "Polymer Valley."
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Eric J. Amis, Ph.D.