Description:

The Program on Plastics, Ecosystems, and Public Health (PEPH) will host Christopher Bates, Associate Professor of Materials, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. The event is co-hosted by the Department of Chemistry. Registration required, lunch provided.  

Registration: In-person attendance / Virtual attendance

When: Friday, February 23 | 1:00-2:00pm CST
Where: Hybrid | Tech M120 in-person | Online via Zoom

Speaker: Christopher Bates is Associate Professor of Materials, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, introduction by Julia Kalow, associate professor of chemistry at Northwestern University. 

Abstract: Sustainability is an important goal in contemporary materials science, but many commercial applications still use conventional polymers that lack viable end-of-use recycling or degradation pathways. This talk will discuss new design strategies rooted in novel chemistry to render common pressure-sensitive adhesives recyclable and degradable without sacrificing traditional performance. Insights spanning monomer selection, copolymerization kinetics, and material properties provide a route to improve the sustainability of adhesives found in everyday consumer products and advanced technology alike.

Speaker Bio: Christopher M. Bates earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2007 and received a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin in 2013 under the guidance of C. Grant Willson. After a postdoc with Robert H. Grubbs at the California Institute of Technology, Christopher moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2016. He currently holds an appointment as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Materials, Chemistry & Biochemistry (by Courtesy), and Chemical Engineering (by Courtesy).

This conversation is part of the seminar series hosted by the Program on Plastics, Ecosystems, and Public Health at the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy.

Questions? Contact mike.mcmahon@northwestern.edu