Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Professor James Crivello, of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, was awarded the 2009 Herman F. Mark Senior Scholar Award by the Polymer Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The award is one of the highest honors that a polymer researcher can receive and recognizes outstanding research and leadership in the field.

“Jim has invented some of the world’s most advanced polymers,” said David Spooner, acting dean of Rensselaer’s School of Science. “He is an extremely active researcher and an inventor in the truest sense of the word. We are exceptionally proud to have him on our faculty and congratulate him on his most recent and exceptional achievement.”

Crivello will be formally presented with the award at the annual meeting of the ACS in Washington, D.C., this August.

Crivello, who was elected fellow of the ACS in 2007, holds more than 23 issued or pending patents. His research remains at the forefront of materials design, incorporating organic and synthetic polymer chemistry to develop new materials. His polymers have a broad range of applications in energy conservation, coating, microelectronic circuits, and composites. His major areas of research encompass novel polymer development, polymer initiators, block polymers, and metal-catalyzed ring-opening polymerizations.

He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Aquinas College and doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. Crivello joined the Rensselaer faculty in 1988 after a 22-year career at General Electric’s Global Research Center.

The Mark Senior Scholar Award has been awarded since 1976 and is sponsored by Elsevier, publishers of the journal Polymer.