NASHVILLE, Tenn.—A senior research associate from ExxonMobil Chemical will be the 2015 recipient of the ACS Rubber Division's Charles Goodyear Medal, the organization's highest honor.
Sudhin Datta will receive the honor during the Rubber Division's spring meeting next April in Greenville, S.C. The medal “honors an individual for outstanding invention, innovation or development which resulted in significant change or contribution to the nature of the rubber industry.”
Datta was named the medalist because of his invention of a line of Vistamaxx propylene-based elastomers, according to the division. He has been at ExxonMobil Chemical for 33 years, always associated with the research and development of polyolefin elastomers.
He authored the book “Polymeric Combatibilizers in 1996, has authored 12 review chapters in other books and has been granted 108 U.S. patents.
The Rubber Division revealed the honor during the opening day of its International Elastomer Conference and Rubber Expo, being held Oct. 14-16 in Nashville. It also announced four others who will be honored at the 2015 spring meeting.
Alan Muhr of the Tan Abdul Razak Research Center will receive the Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award. The honor goes to someone who has exhibited exceptional technical competency by making significant and repeated contributions to rubber science and technology. Muhr joined TARRC in 1983 when it was known as the Malaysian Rubber Producers' Research Association.
Julie Diani, a senior researcher in materials science and engineering at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts et Metiers in France will receive the Sparks-Thomas Award recognizing outstanding younger scientists. Her work focuses on experimental characterization and modeling of the mechanical behavior of polymer.
The Chemistry of Thermoplastic Elastomers Award will go to Carl Willis, who has been with Kraton Polymers for more than 25 years. He has contributed to a number of novel Kraton technology platforms, including Nexar membranes and Kraton's A, ERS and FG polymer grade lines.
Gert Heinrich will receive the George Stafford Whitby Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research. He is a full professor for polymer materials and rubber technology at Technische Universitaet Dresden, Institute of Materials Science. He also is director of the Institute of Polymer Materials at Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden.