Lodge to lead Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)

Distinguished McKnight University Professor Timothy P. Lodge has been selected as the director of the University’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) effective Dec. 1. Lodge is a professor in both the chemistry and the chemical engineering and materials science departments. The MRSEC is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Lodge received a bachelor of arts degree in applied mathematics from Harvard in 1975 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1980. From 1981 to 1982, he served as a National Research Council postdoctoral associate at the National Bureau of Standards. He joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 1982 and has been involved with the MRSEC since its inception in 1998.

His research areas include the study of polymer structure and dynamics and polymer characterization. He and other members of the University’s polymer research group are working on research that could have practical applications in every day life such as improved medical drug delivery, lower-cost compact disks and materials that are biodegradable and better for the environment.

Lodge is a member of many professional organizations and is editor of the American Chemical Society’s journal Macromolecules. He also has served on the editorial boards of several other professional journals including the Journal of Chemical Physics, Journal of Polymer Science, and International Journal of Polymer Analysis and Characterization. Lodge has authored or co-authored more than 200 articles in the field of polymer science and advised or co-advised more than 30 Ph.D. theses. 

During his time at the University, Lodge has earned several awards and honors, including the 2004 Polymer Prize from the American Physical Society and the Institute of Technology George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Research.  He is also an Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor.

Lodge replaces former MRSEC director Michael Ward, who accepted a new job at New York University.

MRSEC is an innovative materials research center that brings together faculty and students from seven departments. The center is an example of the collaboration between science and engineering departments within the University’s Institute of Technology. MRSEC also encourages partnerships with industry, including cooperative hands-on research.