Dr. Marek Urban

Professor Marek W. Urban is a graduate of Marquette University, where he received M.S. degree in chemistry, followed by a Ph.D. degree form Michigan Technological University in chemistry. After two years of a postdoctoral position at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, he joined the Department of Polymers and Coatings at North Dakota State University. After 13 years at NDSU, serving as professor and department chair during his last five years, he accepted a professorship position at the University of Southern Mississippi, School of Polymers and High Performance Materials, where in addition to his professorship appointment, he directs the National Science Foundation funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) which focuses on response-driven polymeric films. He also serves on the NSF Executive Committee for MRSECs in US. Since 2006, he also directs the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials. He is an active member of numerous professional organizations including American Chemical Society, American Institute of Physics, Federation of Societies for Coatings Technologies, American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and Society for Applied Spectroscopy. During his carrier he published over 300 research papers, is an author of several patents, wrote 3 books, and is an editor of 8 American Chemical Society Advances in Chemistry or Symposium Series books. He also chaired and organized several symposia for the PMSE Division of the American Chemical Society and in 2003 was also elected to chair the Gordon Research Conference in Polymer Films in Coatings. From 1987-91 he was a recipient of the 3M Company Award for Young Investigators and in 1989 he received the Megger’s Award for the best paper published in the Applied Spectroscopy journal. In 1996, he received the Alcoa Research Foundation Award for the outstanding contributions to multi-dimensional spectroscopy of polymers and films. In 1999 he received the technical Focus Speaker and the Roon Foundation Awards from the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technologies. In recognition of professional excellence, leadership, and public service, in 2000 he was elected as a member of the Academy Arts and Sciences at Michigan Technological University. This year he also received the Distinguished Alumni Lectureship Award, followed by 2002 and 2003 awards from the University of Southern Mississippi: the College of Science and Technology Deans Award and the Research and Scholarly Activity Award. In 2003 he became the Distinguished LETTERS Scholar at the University of Southern Mississippi and in 2004 he received the Distinguished Research Award in the Area of Materials Science and Engineering from Marquette University. In 2006, the College of Science and Technology awarded him with the Outstanding Research Faculty Award.