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Prof. J.W.M. Noordermeer to Receive George S. Whitby Award 2010



On October 14th 2009 it was announced that Prof. Dr. Jacques W. M. Noordermeer will be the recipient of the 2010 George S. Whitby Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research. The award, granted by the American Chemical Society Rubber Division and sponsored by Cabot, honors outstanding international teachers of chemistry and polymer science, and recognizes innovative research, as well as outstanding contributions to the integration of chemistry and polymer science into our educational system. The award will be given at the spring meeting of the ACS Rubber Division on April 27th 2010 in Akron, OH, USA.


Noordermeer is currently a full time professor of elastomer technology and engineering at the Technical University of Twente in the Netherlands. He joined the faculty in 1995.


He received his master degree in biochemistry with highest distinction (cum laude) in 1970 from the Delft University of Technology, and his Ph.D. in 1974 from Delft on “A flow birefringence study of polymer conformation”. He did postdoctoral research at the Rheology Research Center of the University of Wisconsin, with Dr. J. D. Ferry.


After serving in the military, Noordermeer began his career at General Electric Plastics, Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands, where he was manager of the application engineering for Noryl PPO, Lexan PC and Valox PBT.


In 1981, he joined DSM Elastomers, Geleen, the Netherlands, and held various positions within the EPDM-rubber R&D area, including polymer development specialist, director of research and application technology, and R&D coordinator between the Netherlands, the U.S., Japan and Brazil.


The research activities of Noordermeer as head of the Elastomer Technology and Engineering Department at the University of Twente over the past decade have focused on a variety of elements of rubber technology, including mechanism of rubber reinforcement, crosslinking chemistry, rubber recycling and reuse, and thermoplastic elastomers.


His career spans a wide variety of experiences including academia, industry, consulting and collaborative efforts. He has published more than 200 scientific papers, supervised 17 doctoral candidates and holds 10 patents.


In 1999, Noordermeer was given the annual technical award of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers; in 2000, he was selected for the Best Paper-Original Contribution award of the 157th meeting of the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society, and was awarded the gold medal of the International Rubber Conference Organization (IRCO) in 2005, the highest award given by the organization.


Prof. Noordermeer presently is on the management team of the Dutch Polymer Institute where he is scientific chairman for the rubber technology area. He is a member of the Board of the Netherlands Institute of Materials (Bond voor Materialenkennis); International Rubber Conference Organizing Committee; International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers; and also Board of the Dutch Natural Rubber Foundation.


(Source: Rubber Expo, page 4, October 2009)

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George Stafford Whitby Award

Sponsor: Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society Inc.

Purpose: This award perpetuates the memory of George S. Whitby, head of the rubber laboratory at The University of Akron and for years the only one who taught rubber chemistry in the USA, by honoring outstanding international teachers of chemistry and polymer science and recognizing innovative research.

Eligibility: The recipient shall have made outstanding contributions to chemical and/or polymer science education or research, including the training of professional rubber or polymer chemists: the dissemination of reliable information about chemistry to prospective chemists, to members of the profession, to students in other fields, and to the general public; and the integration of chemistry and polymer science into our educational system. The activities recognized by the awards may lie in the fields of teaching (at any level), organization and administration, influential writing, standards of instruction, and public enlightenment. This award is open and not restricted to Rubber Division, ACS membership.

Establishment & Support: Rubber Division, ACS established this award in 1986. Cabot Corporation currently sponsors this award.