Chemist Michael Rubinstein of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been awarded the 2010 Polymer Prize from the American Physical Society.
The prize recognizes outstanding contributions in polymer physics research.
Rubinstein, the John P. Barker Distinguished Professor, has been at UNC since 1995.
Most of the materials around us (from plastics to tires) and inside us (DNA and proteins) are made of polymers — giant, chain-like molecules. The goal of Rubinstein’s research group is to understand how polymers move through a tangle formed by their molecule neighbors and how they are deformed if attached to each other in a network, then pulled apart (like stretching a rubber band.) UNC researchers are modeling polymers in the lungs with the goal of developing treatments for diseases such as cystic fibrosis.
The unique properties of polymers that make them the materials of choice in many industries are their enormous size in comparison to ordinary molecules and their ability to change under the influence of surrounding molecules, Rubinstein said.
Rubinstein received his bachelor’s degree from the California Institute of Technology and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Harvard University. He will be presented the award at a meeting of the American Physical Society in March 2010.
