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Izatt Christensen Lectureship

Glenn Fredrickson

Dr. Fredrickson holds prestigious memberships in both the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Physical Society. His research contributions span polymers and complex fluids, statistical mechanics, and computational modeling, with a focus on developing advanced materials.

Dr. Fredrickson has received numerous awards, including:

  • Polymer Physics Prize from APS
  • Cooperative Research Award from ACS
  • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
  • Alfred P. Sloan Fellow
  • NSF Early CAREER Award

He served as the Director of the Mitsubishi Chemical Center for Advanced Materials and the Complex Fluids Design Consortium at UCSB. He has pioneering work in the theoretical analysis of complex fluids and polymers, including block copolymers. He will deliver a technical lecture to our faculty and students and a more general presentation to the broader public audience.

Technical Lecture

  • Time/Date: 11 AM, Feb 6, 2025
  • Location: 321 EB
  • Title: Predictive Multiscale Modeling of Polymer Formulations
  • Abstract: A method is described for de novo prediction of the self-assembly and phase behavior of polymer melt or solution formulations without any experimental input. The technique employs all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of small systems containing oligomeric fragments of the polymers to obtain equilibrated reference data. Relative entropy methods are then used to best fit a coarse-grained (CG) bead-spring model of the oligomeric fluid with Gaussian soft-core, non-bonded interactions. The resulting CG model is analytically converted to a statistical field theory using Hubbard-Stratonovich transforms, enabling the application of field-theoretic simulation methods to efficiently assess structure and thermodynamics of the original polymeric formulation at the mesoscale. A few examples of executing this workflow are provided, in both aqueous and oil-based formulations, showing promising agreement between computational prediction and experiment.

Public Lecture

  • Time/Date: 4 PM, Feb 6, 2025
  • Location: 214 CTB
  • Title: Lessons in Innovation Across the Academic-Industry Divide
  • Abstract: I have had the privilege in my career of leading significant research programs at both an R1 university and a top 10 global chemical company, as well as advising more than 25 companies at various stages of development. This talk will describe some of these experiences and the lessons that I have learned about innovation and managing R&D, both in corporate and academic environments. A few case studies will be presented to illustrate common pitfalls and mistakes in successfully bringing new chemical technologies to the marketplace, as well as common characteristics of successful research programs.

Visiting BYU

For a map of campus see map.byu.edu. Visitor parking can be identified by clicking Parking. Click Buildings to locate the Crabtree Building (CTB for Public Lecture) and Engineering Building (EB for Technical Lecture). It is not possible to park adjacent to the buildings where the lectures are held.

Izatt Christensen Award and Lectures

In 2007, Reid Izatt created an endowment at Brigham Young University to invite an eminent scientist or engineer from the worldwide community to present two lectures to the combined Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Chemical Engineering. The lectures include one more technical in nature for faculty and students and a second more universal in nature for the general public.

The Reed M. Izatt and James J. Christensen lecturers include:

  • J. Fraser Stoddart (15–16 November 2007)
  • Gabor A. Somorjai (21–22 January 2009)
  • George M. Whitesides (3–4 November 2009)
  • Robert Byron Bird (17–18 November 2010)
  • Richard N. Zare (7–8 February 2012)
  • Robert Langer (6–7 February 2013)
  • Mario Capecchi (23–24 January 2014)
  • Alexis T. Bell (19 March 2015)
  • R. Graham Cooks (20-21 March 2017)
  • Franklin Orr (19-20 October 2017)
  • Geraldine L. Richmond (26-27 February 2019)
  • Thomas F. Edgar (19-20 February 2020)
  • Juan J. de Pablo (16 February 2023)
  • Frances Ligler (12-13 March 2024)
  • Nicholas Peppas (13-14 March 2024)
  • Glenn Fredrickson (6 Feb 2025)