How to design materials that recover from real injuries: EngenuitySC’s Science Café with award-winning Dr. Marek Urban, Oct. 14, 2014
October 9, 2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014, 6:00-7:30 p.m. ~
COLUMBIA, SC – Imagine if non-living materials and objects, like metal and plastic, were able to self-heal, like human skin and bones. Or, if a surface fought bacteria for you – without the need of cleaning products. Possible? Yes! Join award-winning Dr. Marek Urban, Clemson University’s J.E. Sirrine Endowed Chair in Advanced Fiber-Based Materials, when he explains his research as it relates to materials science and engineering at EngenuitySC’s popular Science Café series on Tuesday, October 14, 2014, 6:00-7:30 p.m. at Speakeasy in Five Points.
Dr. Urban’s research focuses on developing stimuli-responsive polymers: biologically active polymers to revolutionize already existing technologies, as well as new, innovative self-healing films and materials that utilize natural energy and are capable of sensing, monitoring and responding. Antimicrobial surfaces and colloidal synthesis are developed by his research group, and the findings have been featured in national media including New York Times, Forbes Magazine, BBC, MSNBC, Discovery Channel, USA Today, Yahoo and Outpatient Surgery, as well as radio and TV stations around the world.
Dr. Urban has published over 300 research papers, three books and several patents, and is an editor of eight American Chemical Society Advances in Chemistry or Symposium Series books. He is the recipient of numerous, various awards.
Dr. Urban established and directed the National Science Foundation funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, where he focused on response-driven polymeric films. He is active in several professional organizations including the American Chemical Society, American Institute of Physics, Materials Research Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.
Upon receiving his degree in chemistry from Marquette University, Dr. Urban earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Michigan Technological University. After a two-year postdoctoral position at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Urban joined the Department of Polymers and Coatings at North Dakota State University. Before becoming a professor of Polymer Science at Clemson University in 2012, Dr. Urban spent six years as the director of the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Science Café is for curious souls to engage in their ideas and with each other over a cold beverage and warm conversation. It is a forum for debating scientific issues, diving deep into the philosophies and ethics, and the applications of cutting-edge research. Each Science Café is a real discussion about real issues with real people. For more information and to register for free admission (and perks) for the next Science Café, visit http://www.engenuitysc.com/sciencecafe.
About Science Café
EngenuitySC hosts Science Café at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month, featuring informal presentations by some of South Carolina’s top leaders in science and technology in a casual atmosphere. Guests enjoy networking and a cash bar with high quality beer, wine and cocktails at Speakeasy in Five Points, a comfortable, pub-style environment with couches and expert mixologists behind the bar. Patrons have the opportunity to discuss the latest knowledge economy topics with leading researchers in a relaxed environment that encourages questions, interruptions and discussion.
About EngenuitySC
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., EngenuitySC is a public-private partnership focused on enhancing our region’s economic competitiveness and prosperity. Through collaboration with business, government, higher education and community leaders, EngenuitySC builds partnerships and measures success around five indicators of competitive communities: innovative capacity, talent, entrepreneurial/business environment, livability and strong industry clusters. Through our innovative process, unique vision and ability to create a plan and deliver results, EngenuitySC is working to build a more competitive and prosperous Midlands region. For more information, visit http://www.engenuitysc.com.
About the SmartState Program™
The SmartState Program™ serves the public interest by creating incentives for the state’s research universities, in cooperation with other institutions of higher education in the state, to raise capital from non-state sources to fund endowments for specialized research professorships. These professorships in turn serve as the nucleus for unique, university-based research centers which cultivate critical, public-private industrial partnerships, expand the state’s knowledge base, create well-paying jobs, and enhance economic opportunities and improve the quality of life for the people of South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.SmartStateSC.org.
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