The 2019 Anselme Payen Award winner is Dr Ann-Christine Albertsson, Emeritus Professor at the Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology Sweden. Dr Albertsson will be presented with the award at the ACS Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division Awards Banquet following a symposium in her honour during the 2020 ACS Spring National Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr Albertsson’s scientific contributions have provided us with a new paradigm in the design of degradable and renewable polymeric materials, where the macroscopic performance is translated to all levels of order. The width and scope of her achievements have contributed not only to the field of biopolymers but to the greater community of polymer science. Her scientific accomplishments include:
- The development of sustainable materials based on hemicelluloses – demonstrating utility and advantages of these renewable materials as barrier films for food packaging;
- The isolation and utilisation of upgraded dry materials from wood hydrolysates for the formulation of polymer products;
- Demonstrated the conversion of hemicelluloses to macroinitiator systems for controlled radical polymerisation;
- Developed the concept of indicator products as a new tool for the prediction of lifetimes of polymeric materials;
- Introduced novel monomers, created new initiator and catalyst systems for ring-opening polymerisation;
- Pioneered the use of hydrophilic monomer (1,5-dioxepan-2-one) in polyester synthesis;
- Developed bioresorbable polymeric scaffolds as artificial tissue implants;
- Designed and developed functional and nano-structured surfaces for tissue engineering.
Dr Albertsson has published more than 380 peer-reviewed publications in various international scientific journals, with more than 16,000 citations. She has also edited 5 books. Dr Albertsson is also the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Biomacromolecules.
Congratulations to Dr Albertsson!
Vision and Mission