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Professor Joseph M. DeSimone
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Professor Joseph M. DeSimone
Joseph M. DeSimone is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. He is Director of the NSF Science Technology Center for Environmentally Responsible Solvents and Processes, a collaborative endeavor connecting the research goals, resources, and expertise of five universities spanning the areas of chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, information and library sciences, psychology, and education. He is also Director of the new UNC Institute for Advanced Materials, Nanoscience and Technology (IAM). Dr. DeSimone was also Chairman (1996-2003) and co-founder of Micell Technologies, Inc, a company which pioneered the highly celebrated CO2 dry cleaning technology to replace the undesirable solvent perchloroethylene. In 2002, Dr. DeSimone co-founded BioStent with Richard Stack, William Starling, and Robert Langer to develop and commercialize polymeric drug eluting stents for cardiovascular applications. Dr. DeSimone has written more than 220 refereed articles and has issued over 100 patents.
With his work recognized by the national press, the National Science Foundation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. DeSimone is the recipient of numerous regional and national awards. He was most recently elected, College of Fellows, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2006) and Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2006). In addition to receiving the 2005 ACS Award for Creative Invention, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2005) and the National Academy of Engineering (2005) for the "development of environmentally friendly chemistries and processes for the synthesis of materials, especially new fluoropolymers". He was also selected to receive the highly prestigious 2002 John Scott Award by City Trusts of Philadelphia, which is given to "the most deserving men and women whose inventions have contributed in some outstanding way to the comfort, welfare, and happiness of mankind." He joins the ranks of past recipients Mme. Curie, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, and Jonas Salk. DuPont awarded Dr. DeSimone the 2002 Engineering Excellence Award for successful commercialization of the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Polymerization Plant at DuPont Fayetteville Works. Also in 2002, Dr. DeSimone received the Carothers Award. Other national awards include the 2001 Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest, the 1999 Carl S. Marvel Creative Polymer Chemistry Award, and the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (1997). Regionally, Dr. DeSimone has received the Governor's Award for Excellence, the Chancellor's Award for Excellence (1997), and the 1995 Charles H. Stone Award.
The New York Times has called him "a Wunderkind of chemical engineering." Ernst & Young named him 2001 Entrepreneur of the Year in Technology for the Carolinas. For Micell Technologies, DeSimone received the R&D 100 Award for one of the most technologically significant products of 1998 and the 2001 Governors' Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award. In 1995, Discover Magazine recognized him as a Finalist in the Awards for Technological Innovation for the Environment.
Over the course of the past ten years, Dr. DeSimone has served on the Editorial Boards of Macromolecules (2001-2003), Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research (2000-2003), Journal of Polymer Science (1999- ), Journal of Applied Polymer Science (1992-1999), High Performance Polymers (1994-1999), and on the Synthesis Technical Advisory Board of DOW Chemical Company (1996-1999). He is a founding board member of both the Green Chemistry Institute and the Center for Environmentally Advanced Technologies. Recent service includes serving as Chair for the National Network of NSF Science and Technology Center Directors (2001), acting on the National Research Council Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (2000-2003), and participating in the Defense Sciences Study Group with the Institute for Defense Analysis (2002-2003). Dr. DeSimone serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater Ursinus College.
Dr. DeSimone holds an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Ursinus College (1999). He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Ursinus College in 1986 and his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1990, both in Chemistry.
Mailing
Address:
CB#3290, 257 Caudill Labs
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290
Directions to the Lab
Phone: 919.962.2166
Fax:919.962.5467
desimone@unc.edu
Last Update: 11-Jan-2007
