MORRISVILLE, Pa.—Barry Arkles, founder, president and chief technology officer of Gelest Inc., is the recipient of the American Chemical Society's 2020 Frederic Stanley Kipping Award in Silicon Chemistry.
The award recognizes contributions to the field of silicon chemistry during the 10 years before nomination, according to a Gelest news release.
Arkles will formally receive the award Mar. 23, 2020, at the ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia, Gelest said. This is the first time it has been awarded to a researcher who spent their entire career in the industrial sector.
"While particularly adept at developing synthetic strategies to understand and then manipulate interfaces, he has made important impacts in areas ranging from novel silica precursors, to ultra-extensible rubbers and bird-rejecting window coatings—all through careful and clever silicone chemistry," said Michael Brook, science research chair in sustainable silicone polymers, distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical biology at McMaster University.
Arkles has more than 300 significant publications, including more than 100 patents in the field of silicon chemistry and related material science, Gelest said. He also has been instrumental in developing products derived from silicone chemistry into new commercial applications, including advanced thermoplastic composites, oxygen permeable contact lenses, and enzyme and cell immobilization, among others.
The Kipping award was established in 1960 by Dow Corning Corp. to honor the achievements of Frederic Stanley Kipping.
Gelest is a manufacturer and supplier of silicones, organosilanes and metal-organics for end markets including medical devices, life sciences and microelectronics, among others.