Krzysztof "Kris" Matyjaszewski (; born April 8, 1950) is a

Polish-American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83% ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

. He is the J.C. Warner Professor of the Natural Sciences at the Carnegie Mellon University Matyjaszewski is best known for the discovery of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), a novel method of polymer synthesis that has revolutionized the way macromolecules are made. Matyjaszewski was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 2006 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2019 for expanding the capabilities of controlled/living polymerizations and developing ATRP, a robust catalytic process for the radical polymerization of monomers. He received the prestigious

Wolf Prize in Chemistry The Wolf Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and Arts ...

in 2011, the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences in 2015, and the Grand Prix de la Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie, France in 2020.

Education and career

Matyjaszewski began studying chemistry at Lodz University of Technology in late 1960s and later graduated from the Petrochemical University in Moscow. He received his doctorate from the Center of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...

in 1976 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1977. From 1978 to 1984, he was a research associate of the

. From 1984 to 1985, Matyjaszewski held appointments at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, first as a research associate and then as a visiting professor. In 1985, he joined the chemistry department at Carnegie Mellon University. He founded and currently directs the university's Center for Macromolecular Engineering. This Center is funded both by an active consortium and government agencies, including the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

. In 1998, Matyjaszewski was appointed the J.C. Warner Professor of Natural Sciences. In 2004 he was named a University Professor, the highest distinction faculty can achieve at Carnegie Mellon. Matyjaszewski is also an adjunct professor in Carnegie Mellon's department of materials science and chemical engineering. From 1994 to 1998, Matyjaszewski served as head of the Department of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon and assisted in recruiting additional faculty with strengths in polymer chemistry. At the same time, he formed a research consortium with various industrial corporations to expand the understanding of controlled radical polymerization, including ATRP, and accelerate the transfer of this technology to different commercial applications. A second consortium, the CRP Consortium, formed under his leadership in 2001, continues and expands these efforts, training university and industrial scientists in procedures for responsive polymeric material development and has comprised 60 industrial members. The same year, Matyjaszewski became an adjunct professor at

and at the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

. Matyjaszewski is a co-inventor on 66 issued U.S. patented technologies and holds over 150 international patents. One of the leading educators in the field of polymer chemistry, Matyjaszewski has mentored more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students since joining Carnegie Mellon. He has co-authored 25 books, 100 book chapters and more than 1200 peer-reviewed scientific papers. According to Google Scholar, his work has been cited in the scientific literature more than 170,000 times, with an h-index of 203, making him one of the most cited

chemists A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

in the world. Matyjaszewski has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2020 Grand Prix de la Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie, France, 2017 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry, 2017 Medema Lecture Award, 2015 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, 2014 National Institute of Materials Science (Japan) Award, 2012 Dannie Heineman Prize from the

Göttingen Academy of Sciences Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The or ...

, 2011

and the 2009

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. While environmental che ...

. He has been honored by the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

(ACS) with the 2002 Polymer Chemistry Award, 2011 Applied Polymer Science Award, 2011 Herman Mark Award, 2015 Charles G. Overberger Prize, 2019 Chemistry of Materials Award, 2020 Paul Flory Polymer Education Award and 2020 Nichols Medal. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Inventors, as well as a member of the Polish, Australian and European Academies of Sciences. He also is an honorary member of the Israeli and Chinese Chemical Societies. Matyjaszewski's work has been recognized in his native country of Poland. In 2004, he received the Annual Prize of the Foundation of Polish Science, the most prestigious scientific award in Poland, referred to as the Polish Nobel Prize. In 2005 he became a foreign member of the Polish Academy of Science. He received honorary degrees from Polish universities Lodz University of Technology in 2007 and Poznań University in 2016. He has also received honorary degrees from the Technion, Israel, the

University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

, Belgium,

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

, Greece, Polytechnic Institute in Toulouse, France, Pusan National University in South Korea., Universite P. & M. Curie, Sorbonne in Paris, University of Padua, Italy and University of Coimbra, Portugal.

Awards and honors

*1974 Award of the Scientific Secretary of the

*1980 Award of the Polish Chemical Society *1981 Award of the

*1989 Presidential Young Investigator Award,

*1995 Carl S. Marvel Creative Polymer Chemistry Award,

*1998 Elf Chair of the French Academy of Sciences *1999

Humboldt Prize The Humboldt Prize, the Humboldt-Forschungspreis in German, also known as the Humboldt Research Award, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of G ...

for Senior Scientists *2001 Fellow, Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Fellow,

*2001 Pittsburgh Award, American Chemical Society *2002 Polymer Chemistry Award, American Chemical Society *2004 Cooperative Research Award, American Chemical Society *2004 Prize of the

Foundation for Polish Science The Foundation For Polish Science ( pl, Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej, FNP) is an independent, non-profit making organisation which aim at improving the opportunities for doing research in Poland. Established in 1990, registered in 1991, the ...

*2005 Chair, Gordon Research Conference, Polymer East *2005 Foreign Member,

*2005 Macro Group Medal,

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...

*2006 Member,

*2007 Herman Mark Senior Scholar Award,

*2009

*2010 Fellow,

Polymer Chemistry Division *2010 Gutenberg Award,

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stud ...

*2011 Fellow,

*2011 Applied Polymer Science Award, American Chemical Society *2011 Japanese Society Polymer Science Award *2011

, with Stuart Alan Rice of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and

Ching W. Tang Ching Wan Tang (; born July 23, 1947) is a Hong Kong Americans, Hong Kong–American Physical chemistry, physical chemist. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2018 for inventing OLED (together with Steven Van Slyke), and ...

of the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

*2012 Dannie-Heineman Prize,

*2012 Société Chimique de France Prize *2012 Marie Curie Medal,

Polish Chemical Society The Polish Chemical Society ( pl, Polskie Towarzystwo Chemiczne, PTCHEM) is a professional scientific society of Polish chemists. History The society was founded of 118 Charter Members on 29 June 1919 on the initiative of Leon Marchlewski, Sta ...

*2013 Madison Marshall Award,

, Alabama Section *2013 Inaugural Akzo Nobel North America Science Award, American Chemical Society *2014 Fellow,

National Academy of Inventors The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 2010. ...

*2014

National Institute for Materials Science is an Independent Administrative Institution and one of the largest scientific research centers in Japan. History The growth and development of today's scientific research center has passed through several phases in a number of locations: In ...

(Japan) Award *2015 The Charles Overberger Prize (ACS) *2015 The Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences *2017 Franklin Institute Award in Chemistry *2019 Member, National Academy of Sciences *2019 Corresponding member,

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...

*2019 Chemistry of Materials Award,

*2020 Fellow, European Academy of Sciences *2020 Paul Flory Polymer Education Award,

*2020 William H. Nichols Medal Award, ACS New York Section *2020 Grand Prix de la Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie *2022 CNRS Ambassador of Chemical Sciences in France

Honorary degrees

*2002 –

, Belgium *2006 –

*2007 – Lodz University of Technology, Poland *2008 –

, Greece *2010 – l'Institut Polytechnique, Toulouse, France *2013 - Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea *2013 - Universite P. & M. Curie, Sorbonne, Paris, France *2015 - Technion, Haifa, Israel *2016 - Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poznań, Poland *2017 -

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

, Padua, Italy *2018 -

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...

, Coimbra, Portugal

Visiting professorships

ESPCI ParisTech ESPCI Paris (officially the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la Ville de Paris; ''The City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution'') is a prestigious grande école founded in 1882 by ...

, 2011 * University of Pusan, 2010 * Lodz University of Technology, 2009 *

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

, Fellow of the Japanese Society of the Promotion of Science, 2005 *

, 1985, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2005 *

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (French: ''Université de Bordeaux'') is a Lists of universities in France, public university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southern France, southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bor ...

, 1996, 2004 * Michigan Molecular Institute, 2004 *

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

, Italy, 2000 *

University of Ulm Ulm University (german: Universität Ulm) is a public university in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1967 and focuses on natural sciences, medicine, engineering sciences, mathematics, economics and computer sci ...

, 1999 *

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, 1992
University of Beyreuth
1991 *

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

, 1988

References

External links