IAS Distinguished Lecture

Macromolecular Engineering by Taming Free Radicals

Professor Krzysztof Matyjaszewski

Professor Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, an internationally recognized polymer chemist who discovered the Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP), delivered a distinguished lecture titled “Macromolecular Engineering by Taming Free Radicals” for the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) on 24 October 2018.

In the lecture, Professor Matyjaszewski, J.C. Warner University Professor of Natural Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, elaborated the advantages of the application of ATRP and how this method of polymer synthesis allows scientists to create a wide range of materials with highly specific, tailored functionalities and has led the way for the production of advanced materials, such as health and beauty products, biomedical and electronic materials, coatings, elastomers, adhesives, surfactants, dispersants, lubricants, additives, or sealants. He specially emphasized on nanostructured multifunctional hybrid materials for application related to environment, energy and catalysis.

Professor Matyjaszewski’s research group has continued to develop ATRP since its discovery in 1994, improving the technique and extending its use to many applications in the automotive, building materials, medical, energy and environmental fields.

Videos and PowerPoint of IAS lectures are available online.