ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 2009 by the American Chemical Society. Originally published monthly, the journal became biweekly in 2013 and weekly in 2015. The current editor-in-chief is Kirk S. Schanze. The journal covers research on advanced active and passive electronic/optical materials, coatings, colloids, biomaterials and bio-interfaces, polymers, hybrid and composite materials; and friction and wear.
Alan Neville Gent was a professor at the University of Akron. He was recognized during his lifetime as a world-leading authority on the topics of adhesion physics, crystalline and glassy polymers, and the fracturing of rubber.
The Charles Goodyear Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society, Rubber Division. Established in 1941, the award is named after Charles Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization, and consists of a gold medal, a framed certificate and prize money. The medal honors individuals for "outstanding invention, innovation, or development which has resulted in a significant change or contribution to the nature of the rubber industry". Awardees give a lecture at an ACS Rubber Division meeting, and publish a review of their work in the society's scientific journal Rubber Chemistry and Technology.
The Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award is a professional award conferred by the ACS Rubber Division. Established in 1983, the award is named after Melvin Mooney, developer of the Mooney viscometer and of the Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic law. The award consists of an engraved plaque and prize money. The medal honors individuals "who have exhibited exceptional technical competency by making significant and repeated contributions to rubber science and technology".
Maurice Morton was a polymer author, educator, and researcher. He was the first director of the University of Akron's Institute of Rubber Research, which in 1993 was renamed the Maurice Morton Institute of Polymer Science.
Samuel Emmett Horne Jr. was a research scientist at B. F. Goodrich noted for first synthesizing cis-1,4-polyisoprene, the main polymer contained in natural tree rubber, using Ziegler catalysis. Earlier attempts to produce synthetic rubber from isoprene had been unsuccessful, but in 1955, Horne prepared 98 percent cis-1,4-polyisoprene via the stereospecific polymerization of isoprene. The product of this reaction differs from natural rubber only slightly. It contains a small amount of cis-1,2-polyisoprene, but it is indistinguishable from natural rubber in its physical properties.
Charles Michael Roland was Head of the Polymer Physics Section at the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC from 1989 to 2015. His research was concerned primarily with the dynamics of condensed matter, including polymers and liquid crystals, with applications to military armor and infrastructure protection. He is noted for his development of elastomeric coatings for blast protection, and for diverse accomplishments in the field of elastomer science. From 1991-1999, he served as the 8th editor of the scientific journal Rubber Chemistry and Technology, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining (UK).
Aubert Y. Coran (1932-2020) was an American scientist noted for his contributions to thermoplastic elastomers and vulcanization chemistry of rubber. In 1983, he won the Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award, bestowed by the American Chemical Society to individuals "who have exhibited exceptional technical competency by making significant and repeated contributions to rubber science and technology". In 1995, the rubber division of the American Chemical Society bestowed on Coran the Charles Goodyear Medal in honor of his international contributions to polymer science and development.
The purpose of the Sparks–Thomas Award, given by the ACS Rubber Division, is to recognize and encourage outstanding contributions and innovations in the field of elastomers by younger scientists, technologists, and engineers. The award is named for Exxon scientists William J. Sparks and Robert M. Thomas, co-inventors of Butyl rubber.
Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access scientific journal of polymer science that provides an interdisciplinary forum for publishing papers which advance the field of polymerization methods among others. It was established in 2009 and is published monthly by MDPI. The editor-in-chief is Alexander Böker.
Vibrational Spectroscopy is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and near infrared spectroscopy. Publication began in December 1990 under the original editors Jeanette G. Grasselli and John van der Maas. The current editor-in-chief is Keith C. Gordon. In addition to research articles and communications, review articles are also published in the journal.
Roderic Quirk is an Emeritus University of Akron professor noted for contributions to anionic polymerization technology that is used to produce butadiene, isoprene and styrene homo and block copolymers.
James Roger Beatty was a B. F. Goodrich Senior Research Fellow and the first recipient of the Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award.
Shingo Futamura is a rubber industry materials scientist noted for his concept of the deformation index.
Avraam I. Isayev University of Akron Distinguished Professor of Polymer Engineering known for widely used texts on rheology and polymer molding technology, as well as for development of technology for ultrasonic devulcanization of tire rubber.
Noboru Tokita was a Uniroyal and later Cabot scientist known for his work on the processing of elastomers.
Henry L. Hsieh was a Phillips Petroleum scientist known for contributions to polymerization chemistry, specifically anionic polymerization
Frederick Ignatz-Hoover is an Eastman technology fellow and the ninth editor of Rubber Chemistry and Technology.
Maria D. Ellul is a retired ExxonMobil materials scientist known for her contributions to and development of commercial polyolefin and polyamide specialty thermoplastic elastomers, and recognized as one of the first prominent women scientists in the rubber industry.
