Aggarwal Lectures in Polymer Science

This series of lectures, inaugurated in 1995, is funded by the late Sundar L. Aggarwal PhD '49 (pictured at left). Dr. Aggarwal (1922–1996) earned his Cornell doctorate in the then emerging field of polymer science and engineering with Professor Frank A. Long in 1949. After postdoctoral work with Paul Flory at Cornell in 1950, he joined General Tire and Rubber Company (now GenCorp) in 1957, serving in various research capacities and retiring as vice president and director of the GenCorp research division in 1988. On his retirement Aggarwal founded Global Polymer Technology Associates, an industry consulting firm with international clients. He received industry awards and published articles on and received patents for synthetic rubbers, block polymers, and composites. He was a fellow of the Institute of Materials Science, a member of the American Chemical Society, the Directors of Industrial Research, and the Industrial Research Institute. He was also active as an editor and as a member of industry awards and evaluation panels. The lecture series is held annually, generally in conjunction with Cornell's collaborative Polymer Outreach Program in the Cornell Center for Materials Research. Aggarwal lecturers have included C. Grant Willson, Robert Grubbs, Helmut Ringsdorf, Virgil Percec, Rolf Mülhaupt, Frank Bates, Robert Waymouth, Mitsuo Sawamoto, Andrew Holmes, Matthew Tirrell, Timothy Lodge, Glenn Fredrickson, Jean Fréchet, Edward Kramer, and Olli Ikkala. For a list of previous lectures, please click here.