Month: June 2024

IMS Polymer Program Honors Two Ph.D. Students

Posted on June 12, 2024June 12, 2024 by Rhonda Ward

Jeff McCutcheon (l), Yasmin Bimbatti (c), and Kelly Burke (r) — Yasmin Bimbatti (center) is presented the Stephanie H. Shaw Scholarship Award from Drs. Jeffrey McCutcheon (l) and Kelly Burke (r).

The IMS Polymer Program recognized the accomplishments of two Ph.D. students, bestowing the Samuel J. Huang Student Research Award on Tianjian Wang, and the Stephanie H. Shaw Scholarship on Yasmin Bimbatti.

The Stephanie H. Shaw Scholarship was established 1990 to recognize a female student showing academic achievement as well as contributions outside of research. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, Yasmin worked for 7 years as a researcher at ELANTAS, a German company member of the Altana Group, where she acquired extensive experience in the formulation, syntheses, and characterization of organic polymers. She placed first at the North American Membrane Society (NAMS) 2023 Student Poster Competition; her research presentation for the inaugural C2E2 Graduate Student Research Summit in Sustainability won third place in February 2024. She joined Dr. Jeffrey McCutcheon's research group, Connecticut Center for Applied Separation Technologies (CCAST), in 2023 and focuses her research on fabricating and characterizing printed ultrathin film composite ion exchange membranes using electrospray.

Tianjian Yang receives the Samuel J. Huang Graduate Student Research Award from Dr. Yao Lin (left) and Dr. Kelly Burke (right) — Tianjian Yang receives the Samuel J. Huang Graduate Student Research Award from Dr. Yao Lin (l) and Dr. Kelly Burke (r)

The Samuel J. Huang Student Research Award recognizes a graduate student for outstanding research in the field of polymer science and engineering. Tianjian Yang is a member of Dr. Yao Lin's research group. He was recently named a finalist for the Eastman Chemical Student Award in Applied Polymer Science, which recognizes graduate researchers who demonstrates research excellence in both research and technical presentations. Yang's research has been published in such journals as the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and MDPI.

Pragati Rout Wins Inaugural Boehringer Ingelheim Fellowship

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Rhonda Ward

Ph.D. student Pragati Rout — Ph.D. Student Pragati Rout

Pragati Rout has won the first award in the newly-created Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. Fellowship. The fellowship recognizes the early academic and research accomplishments of a chemistry student’s graduate studies. It awards $5,000 of support in the third summer of the student’s academic journey toward their doctorate degree, allowing the recipient to focus on their doctoral dissertation.

Pragati, a student in Dr. Gregory Sotzing’s group, received her M.S. degree from Berhampur University, Odisha, India. Her research focuses on synthesis and characterization of API’s, monomers and oligomers and exploring their fluorescence properties, hydrogels, and optical brighteners. She is currently conducting cannabinoid research.

Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and the largest private one.

Tianjian Yang is 2024 Finalist for Eastman Chemical Student Award

Posted on June 6, 2024June 13, 2024 by Rhonda Ward

Tianjian Yang, a Ph.D. student in the IMS Polymer Program, has been selected as a finalist for the Eastman Chemical Student Award in Applied Polymer Science. The award recognizes graduate researchers who demonstrate research excellence in both research and technical presentations.

Tianjian earned his M.S. degree from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.S. from Jinan University in China. A student in Dr. Yao Lin’s group, his research interests include supramolecular polymerization and material properties of polypeptides. He is first author of several published research papers.

In August 2024, as part of the Eastman Chemical Award Symposium at the Fall 2024 ACS Meeting in Denver, Colorado, each finalists will give a presentation. Tianjian will present, “From Polypeptides to Biomimetic Materials: Harnessing Auto-Accelerated ROP-NCA for Tailored Mechanical Properties”.

To learn more about the award, visit: https://pmsedivision.org/eastman-student-award/