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James Economy
Founder Professor of Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Office 115B Materials Science and Engineering Building
Telephone 217-333-9260 Fax 217-333-2736
Mail Address Department of Materials Science and Engineering
1304 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801
Professor Economy received his BS from Wayne State University and PhD from the University of Maryland. From 1960-75 he was manager of materials science and chemistry of the Research Branch in the Research and Development Division of the Carborundum Co. During this period, he was responsible for the development of a number of advanced polymers and ceramics, eight of which are commercially available today. From 1975-89 he was manager of the polymer Science and Technology Department in the Research Division of IBM, where his group achieved worldwide prominence both scientifically and technologically. Since 1981 this group transferred, on average, two new materials per year to the operating divisions. In 1989, he joined UIUC as Professor and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He has received the AIC Chemical Pioneer Award (1987), ACS Phillips Medal (1985), Southern Research Burn Institute Award (1976), Schoelkopf Medal (1972) and 14 IR 100 Awards for Outstanding Technical Developments in American Industry. He was recently selected as the 1998 winner of the Herman F. Mark Award of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. Economy made a presentation and received the award at the biennial meeting of the division in November 1998 in Williamsburg, VA. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the MPS-NSF Advisory Board and is President of IUPAC's Macromolecular Division (1994-98). In January 2001, he received the Paul J. Flory Polymer Research Prize for extraordinary contribution to polymer science and engineering. He is a Fellow of PMSE (2001) and a Fellow of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences (2003).