AKRON (July 21, 2008) — Frank N. Kelley, dean of the University of Akron's College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering for 18 years, has won the 2008 Paul J. Flory Polymer Education Award, the highest honor presented by American Chemical Society's Polymer Chemistry Division.
The honor recognizes outstanding achievements by an individual or team in promoting undergraduate and/or graduate polymer education. It is sponsored by specialty materials company Rohm and Haas.
Kelley will speak at a symposium arranged in his honor at the division's fall meeting in Philadelphia.
Kelley, who is dean emeritus of the college, became a professor and director of the Institute of Polymer Science in 1978 after working for Goodyear and Union Carbide. He was appointed as dean of the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering when it was established in 1988.
“He helped to guide the college into a renowned program ranked second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report,” said Stephen Cheng, dean of polymer science and engineering.
Kelley already has won numerous awards, among them the 2008 George Stafford Whitby Award in Rubber Education, from the ACS Rubber Division.