{"id":285664,"date":"2026-05-27T03:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T03:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/285664\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T03:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T03:53:25","slug":"fsu-polymer-chemist-receives-prestigious-american-chemical-society-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/285664\/","title":{"rendered":"FSU polymer chemist receives prestigious American Chemical Society award"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"AJustin Kennemur, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. (Devin Bittner\/FSU College of Arts and Sciences)\t\t<\/p>\n

A Florida State University faculty member has been recognized for his continued service to a national professional organization focused on the study of polymers, substances found in everything from plastics to spiderwebs.<\/p>\n

Justin Kennemur, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry<\/a>, has been awarded the 2026 Distinguished Service Award from the American Chemical Society\u2019s Division of Polymer Chemistry<\/a>, or POLY, for his service to the division, including his elected role as secretary from January 2023 to December 2025. He is the first faculty member from FSU to receive the award.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel incredibly humbled to have earned this award,\u201d Kennemur said. \u201cIt takes a village for POLY to operate at the level it does. I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t share this award with all of the active people in POLY who contribute to its mission, vision and goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

POLY is the premier professional organization promoting polymer science and its value to society. The organization supports thousands of members advancing the broader field and practitioners as they meet the global challenges of today and tomorrow by connecting them to peers through conferences, workshops and educational opportunities to share their research and progress the field of polymer chemistry. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a member of the organization whose service and professional accomplishments have made a significant and lasting impact on POLY.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis organization serves as a melting pot by which students, industry scientists, government workers, and academics in the field of polymer science can collaborate, learn and create a network of like-minded professionals to encourage the growth of polymer research,\u201d Kennemur said. \u201cWe work toward a common vision of promoting polymer science and its values to society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polymers are found in a range of man-made and natural materials from rubbers and textiles to tree bark and tentacles. They\u2019re composed of macromolecules, large molecules made up of repeating structures of basic chemical building blocks known as monomers. Kennemur\u2019s research focuses on constructing complex chemical compounds using polymeric materials, such as those found in plastics and elastomers, to develop innovative materials for clean energy technologies like fuel cells and sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth synthetic and natural polymers are everywhere, and we can see their impact within every facet of industry,\u201d Kennemur said. \u201cConstruction, transportation, outer space exploration, not to mention skin, hair, feathers, wood: any material that isn\u2019t a mineral or a metal is likely a polymer. Even your DNA is a polymer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kennemur Research Group<\/a> takes inspiration from organic chemistry concepts in the natural world, like complex polymers found naturally in starch or collagen, to develop synthetic techniques that advance polymer chemistry, especially in the development of sustainable plastics that can be reused and recycled more effectively. Kennemur previously created eco-friendly plastics from pine sap, a more renewable material than the crude oil typically used to manufacture synthetic plastic. He intends to synthesize novel polymers to build even more sustainable materials, further minimizing the impact of single-use plastics.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake \u2014 plastics have revolutionized society in many positive ways, but we have become too complacent in using them once and throwing them out without a clear path toward their reuse,\u201d Kennemur said. \u201cWe need more sustainable solutions so we can go back to appreciating plastics for the fantastic materials they are with less environmental pollution and potential health impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennemur received his doctorate in chemistry from North Carolina State University in 2010 before completing postdoctoral polymer research at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He joined FSU\u2019s faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 2014, and he remains a member of the American Chemical Society with specific involvement in its Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering as well as POLY.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Kennemur is a star and an emerging leader in polymer chemistry who has made a name for himself through his innovative research,\u201d said Wei Yang, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a professor of biochemistry. \u201cHe\u2019s also an outstanding teacher of organic chemistry and a great graduate mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since joining FSU\u2019s faculty, Kennemur has earned the William R. Jones Outstanding Mentor Award from the Florida Education Fund and the FSU Developing Scholar Award, and his research has been funded by institutions such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the ACS Petroleum Research Fund. In May, he was elected an associate member of the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida.<\/p>\n

Visit the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry website<\/a> to learn more about Kennemur\u2019s work and research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Justin Kennemur, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. (Devin Bittner\/FSU College of Arts and Sciences)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[56742,57786,57787,57788,232,234,233],"class_list":["post-285664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences","tag-department-of-chemistry-and-biochemistry","tag-faculty","tag-honorific-award","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}