COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 11, 2009 – Paula T. Hammond, the Bayer Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will discuss her research Wednesday, Sept. 16, kicking off the Fall 2009 J.D. Lindsay Lecture Series at Texas A&M University.
Hammond’s presentation, “Electrostatic Assemblies: Reactive to Responsive Thin Films for Energy and Biomaterials Applications,” is scheduled from 3-4 p.m. in Rm. 106 of the Jack E. Brown Building. Her presentation is sponsored by Texas A&M’s Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.
Hammond’s work encompasses two major areas: the development of new biomaterials via nano to microscale fabrication using directed and self-assembly of polymers, including drug delivery thin films with temporal control and novel polymer architectures for targeted nanoparticle drug and gene delivery; and self-assembled materials systems for electrochemical energy devices, including fuel cells, batteries and photovoltaics.
Throughout her distinguished career, Hammond has been awarded the NSF CAREER Award, the EPA Early Career Award, the DuPont Young Faculty Award and the Junior Bose Faculty Award at MIT. Her work in nanomaterials has been recognized and featured in several venues, including the journal “Nature” and as one of the “Top 100 Science Stories of 2008” in “Discover Magazine.” Hammond also has been featured in “Popular Mechanics” as a recipient of the Breakthrough Award as well as in “The Economist,” “Forbes Magazine” and “Technology Review.”
Hammond earned her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from MIT in 1984, her master’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1988 and her doctoral degree in chemical engineering from MIT in 1993. From 1993 to 1995, she held the NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemistry while working at Harvard University’s chemistry department.
In honor of Professor J.D. Lindsay, Texas A&M’s first chemical engineering department head, the department established the Lindsay Lecture Series to bring speakers to the university. Coming from both industry and academia, the lecturers are recognized for their accomplishments in the practice, teaching and/or research of chemical engineering. The series also allows the lecturers several days for visiting the university and the department and for exchanging ideas on teaching and research objectives and methods.
