Timothy P. Lodge

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, College of Science and Engineering, 2013

Regents Professor Timothy P. Lodge, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Department of Chemistry and Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, College of Science and Engineering (CSE), is a world-renowned polymer scientist. He has served the University with distinction for over 30 years. His record in research, teaching, and service is outstanding. Lodge’s research focuses on the structure and dynamics of polymeric systems. His experiments have clarified the universal physical laws that govern the behavior of polymers, and his insightful models have provided an understanding of these laws. Considered to be one of the pioneers in the field of block copolymers with ionic liquids, Lodge directs a laboratory that is said to be “doing absolutely the best work in the world.” Recently, he has solved a 50-year-old problem in polymer science, i.e., how to predict the viscosity of a polymer mixture. His discoveries are setting the agenda in this field.

Lodge’s contributions in the classroom are exceptional. He has consistently demonstrated excellent teaching and advising. He recently published a second edition of the textbook Polymer Chemistry: The Basic Concepts. Paul Hiemenz first published this textbook in 1984, and Lodge’s new version of the book is the only text that covers synthesis, characterization, and properties of polymers, and at the same time derives all the important equations in mathematically tractable and physically transparent ways. Hiemenz and Lodge is becoming a contemporary classic and is comparable to Nobel Laureate Paul Flory’s masterpiece, Principles of Polymer Chemistry, which was published over 50 years ago. Overall, Lodge has written four books and book chapters, has published more than 300 papers in the top journals in the fields of chemistry and physics, and has presented numerous papers at national and international meetings. His paper published in Macromolecules in 2000 has been cited nearly 300 times. His 2004 Science paper on structured micelles has been cited more than 450 times. In total, his publications have amassed over 12,000 citations.

Currently, Lodge advises 20 undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers. His students and post-doctoral associates are heavily recruited by industry and many have attained faculty positions at prestigious institutions. Former students praise him as an exceptional mentor, emphasizing his exceptionally high intellectual standards, his compassion, empathy, and patience.

Lodge’s service to his department, college, and the University is remarkable. He has served on numerous committees including the CSE Promotion and Tenure Committee, the McKnight-Land Grant Professorship Selection Committee, and the Vice President for Research Search Committee. He served two terms, including one as chair, on the department’s Planning, Staffing, and Resources Committee, and he has served on eight faculty search committees (serving as chair three times). He has led an Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) focusing on polymer research for the University’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), where he administered an annual IRG research budget of approximately $500,000. As coordinator of the Microstructured Polymers Group for the Industrial Partnership for Research in Interfacial and Materials Engineering (IPRIME) organization, he secured and developed over $300,000 in industrial funds annually to support research for University of Minnesota faculty members. He currently serves as Director of the MRSEC. In this role he is credited with coordinating a successful renewal proposal to the National Science Foundation, resulting in six more years of MRSEC funding totaling nearly $17 million.

Lodge’s intellectual leadership in his field is reflected in the numerous awards he has received including the Post baccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education Award (2012), Institute of Technology Distinguished Professorship (2004), and Distinguished McKnight University Professorship (2001). In addition, he has received the Minnesota Award of the American Chemical Society Minnesota Section (2012), Turner Alfrey Visiting Professorship (2011), and International Scientist Award from the Society of Polymer Science Japan (2009). Recently, Lodge was recognized as a Fellow of both the American Chemical Society (2010) and the Association for the Advancement of Science (2009). He is the recipient of the American Physical Society Polymer Physics Prize (2004) and the American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry (2009), the most prestigious international awards in the fields of both polymer physics and polymer chemistry. Only a few others in the world have claimed both of these prizes. Regents Professor Lodge’s career is exemplary and the University is fortunate to have him as part of its intellectual community.