University of Akron professor emeritus to receive 2019 Charles Goodyear Medal

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—A professor emeritus at the University of Akron will be the next recipient of the Charles Goodyear Medal, the highest honor given by the ACS Rubber Division.

Roderic Quirk, an emeritus distinguished professor of polymer science at the University of Akron, was announced as the medalist during the first day of the Rubber Division's International Elastomer Conference, being held Oct. 9-11 in Louisville.

Quirk is one of the most relevant authorities in the field of anionic polymerization research and has made "outstanding and unparalleled contributions to rubber science and industry," according to the letter nominating him for the medal.

The professor's research mainly has focused on anionic polymerization using alkyllithium initiators in hydrocarbon solution, technology that is used to produce butadiene, isoprene and styrene homo and block copolymers, the nomination said. The polymers are used in such applications as adhesives, engineering plastics impact modification, ABS and HIPS production, tires and oil viscosity index improvement.

Quirk, a native of Detroit, received a bachelor's in chemistry in 1963 from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He received his master's and doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois with Professor David Curtin, followed by two years of postdoctoral research with professor E.M. Arnett at the University of Pittsburgh's Mellon Institute.

He was a faculty member in the Chemistry Department at the University of Arkansas from 1969 to 1978. He joined the University of Akron as professor of polymer science in l983 after five years as a senior research scientist at Midland Macromolecular Institute (now Michigan Molecular Institute) in Midland, Mich.

Quirk is the author of more than 350 professional publications, including four books and 32 patents.

He was awarded a fellowship from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (1990) and was a visiting professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology (1990); the Institute Charles Sadron, CNRS, Strasbourg, France (1991); the Universite Bordeaux, France (1998); and University of the Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain (2005).

In 1996, he was appointed Kumho Professor of Polymer Science and also Distinguished Professor of Polymer Science at the University of Akron. His service included being chair in the Department of Polymer Science and also has served as interim director of the Institute of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering.

His awards include the 2004 George Stafford Whitby Award from the Rubber Division and the 2000 Cooperative Research Award from the ACS Division of Polymeric Materials, Science and Engineering.

The Rubber Division will present Quirk with the medal during its 2019 spring technical meeting in Independence, Ohio.