Dear Colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that I announce the arrival of our new Dean for Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE), Professor Yves Gnanou. Professor Gnanou joins us from the École Polytechnique in Paris where he held the role of Vice President of Academic Affairs and of Research.
Prior to that, he held the position of Professor and Director of the Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques (LCPO) at Bordeaux University (France) from 1999 to 2007. During his tenure in Bordeaux he was also adjunct professor at the University of Florida from 2002-2007 and a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA from 1989-1990.
Professor Gnanou received his PhD in Polymer Chemistry in 1985 from the Université L. Pasteur (Strasbourg). His research interests currently focus on the design of metal-free “green” catalysts for chain and step-growth polymerizations and on the assembly of original polymeric architectures by novel synthetic methods.
Professor Gnanou’s publication record is impressive with over 300 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and patents in the field of polymer chemistry. He is also the co-author of two internationally used textbooks for undergraduate and graduate students. Professor Gnanou is editor-in-chief of the European Polymer Journal and is also a member of the editorial boards of Progress in Polymer Science, Polymer, e-Polymers, and Designed Monomers and Polymers.
In 2003 Professor Gnanou received the Langevin Prize and the Berthelot Medal from the French Academy of Sciences and in 2009 was elected as a Member of the French Academy of Agriculture.
With his extensive academic management, teaching, and research experience I am delighted that Professor Gnanou has joined our campus to lead the PSE division and I know you will join our President and me in welcoming him warmly.
Stefan Catsicas
Provost