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John Torkelson
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John M. Torkelson
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John Torkelson is a Walter P. Murphy Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. John received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1978 and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1983. He has been a faculty member at Northwestern since 1983, where he also served as Assistant Department Chair in Chemical Engineering from 1992 to 1995 and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science from 1997 to 2002. During 2003 - 2006, John was the Director of the Materials Research Center at Northwestern University, which receives its main funding from the NSF-Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) Program.
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His current and recent research interests are in the following areas:
Glass-forming polymer systems and their nanoscale, heterogeneous relaxation processes
Green polymer processing and manufacture, especially solid-state shear pulverization and controlled radical polymerization
Ultrathin films, coatings, and membranes
Polymer nanocomposites, especially related to issues of nanofiller (e.g., clay, carbon nanotube, ceramic nanoparticle) dispersion by solid-state shear pulverization and impact of dispersion on properties
Gradient copolymers, including synthesis, property-structure relationships, and use as compatibilizers of immiscible blends
Phase behavior of blends and copolymer-solvent systems
Polymerization reaction engineering, especially free radical polymerization (conventional and controlled) and sensors
Diffusion and diffusion-limited processes in polymers
Associative polymers forming physical gels
Optical characterization & sensors: fluorescence, nonlinear optics, photochromism, single-molecule microscopy
John's teaching interests include the following: polymer chemistry, physics and engineering; polymerization reaction engineering; and polymer processing. He has also taught 12- to 15-week short courses related to polymers and to basic materials science at several industrial research centers in the metropolitan Chicago area.
Honors and Awards (since receipt of Ph.D.)
2012
Elected "Fellow" of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2012
Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence
Northwestern University
2010
Outstanding Teaching Award
American Society for Engineering Education, Illinois/Indiana Section
2009
Best Paper Award
Engineering Properties and Structure Division, SPE
2009
Northwestern Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award
2008
McCormick School of Engineering Teacher of the Year Award
2007
Associated Student Government Faculty Honor Roll
2004
Charles M.A. Stine Award
Materials Engineering and Science Division, AIChE
2004
Best Paper Award
Polymer Analysis Division, Society of Plastics Engineers
2004
Polymer Physics Prize
Journal of Polymer Science Part B Polymer Physics
2002
Caterpillar Distinguished Lecturer
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
University of Iowa
1999
Named "Fellow" of the American Physical Society
1995-98
Bette and Neison Harris Professor of Teaching Excellence
1995-96
Associated Student Government Faculty Honor Roll
1994
McCormick School of Engineering Advisor of the Year Award
1987-92
NSF-Presidential Young Investigator Award
1986
Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award
1985-86
Lilly Foundation Teaching Fellow
1985
TECH (now McCormick School of Engineering) Teacher of the Year Award
1984
Tau Beta Pi Outstanding Teaching Award
Professor Torkelson as a Faculty Coach during Senior Day 2009, Northwestern vs. Wisconsin
National Technical/Scientific Society Offices Held
2005-08
Member-at-Large, Executive Committee,
Division of Polymer Physics, American Physical Society
1999-2002
Chair, Vice-Chair, and Second Vice-Chair,
Materials Engineering and Science Division
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Locations of Recent/Upcoming Invited or Plenary Talks (01/2005 - present)
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
Spring 2005 National American Chemical Society Meeting (San Diego, CA)
March 2005 National American Physical Society Meeting (Los Angeles, CA)
Frontiers of Soft Condensed Matter Workshop, Exxon-Mobil Research Center (Annandale, NJ)
5th International Discussion Meeting on Relaxation in Complex Systems (Lille, France)
August 2005 National American Chemical Society Meeting (Washington, DC)
Dept. of Polymer Science, University of Akron
Milliken Corp. (Spartenburg, SC)
Advances in Polyolefins 2005 (Rohnert Park, CA)
Dept of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University (Suwon, Korea)
Pacific Polymer Federation IX Meeting (Maui, Hawaii)
2005 Pacifichem Meeting (Honolulu, Hawaii)
2006 Dutch Polymer Days (Lunteren,The Netherlands)
3rd International Meeting on Dynamics in Confinement (Grenoble, France)
Program in Polymer Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts
2006 Society of Plastics Engineers Annual Technical Meeting
European Research Training Network Workshop on Properties of Polymers in Thin Films (Mulhouse, France)
Workshop on Non-equilibrium Phenomena in Supercooled Fluids, Glasses and Amorphous Materials (Pisa, Italy)
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas-Austin
29th AustralAsian Polymer Symposium (Hobart, Australia)
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