Timothy Long selected as a Virginia Outstanding Scientist for 2015
Timothy Long, a professor of chemistry in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, has been selected as one of three Virginia Outstanding Scientists for 2015.
He will be honored Thursday by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the Science Museum of Virginia at a ceremony in Richmond.
Long, who earned his doctoral degree from Virginia Tech, is the director of the university's Macromolecules Interfaces Institute.
He spent nearly a decade as a research scientist at the Eastman Kodak Co. before returning to Virginia Tech as a professor. His work with industry has helped him maintain a vigorous partnership with diverse partners including BASF, Elevance, IBM, 3M and several others.
“Tim is well known as one of the leading researchers in the field of polymer chemistry,” said Lay Nam Chang, dean of the College of Science. “Having Tim as part of our team at Virginia Tech provides rich opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration between departments, and provides our students with instruction and research opportunities available in very few places.”
Over the past 16 years, Long has received more than $41 million in research funding and maintains a 20-member, interdisciplinary research group focusing on macromolecular structure and polymerization processes for the development of advanced technologies including drug and gene delivery, sustainable food stocks, adhesives and elastomers, and biomaterials for health and energy.
Mikhail Noginov, a professor of physics at Norfolk State University, and Purusottam Jena, a distinguished professor of physics at Virginia Commonwealth University, were also named Virginia Outstanding Scientists for 2015.
"It is an honor to recognize Virginia's leading scientific minds," McAuliffe said. "The 2015 Virginia Outstanding Scientist recipients are at the forefront of their fields and are recognized for their contributions to future technologies."
In 2014, Long was named director of the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute, which harnesses Virginia Tech’s scientific and engineering expertise in polymers — crucial materials in the multibillion dollar chemical and manufacturing industries.The institute leverages the capabilities of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science to identify new opportunities for polymer research.
Within the field of polymer chemistry, Long received the Robert L. Patrick Fellowship Award in 2014. In 2012 he was the regional chair of the IUPAC World Polymer Congress at Virginia Tech, was inducted as an ACS Polymer Division Fellow, received the Mark Scholar Award, and earned the Carl Dahlquist Award from the Pressure Sensitive Tape Council.
He has also received the American Chemical Society’s Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Cooperative Research Award, and the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Research Excellence, the Collano Innovation Award of Lucerne, Switzerland, Panhellenic Council of Virginia Tech Certificate of Teaching Excellence, the IBM Faculty Award, and the 3M Faculty Award.
Long has more than 40 patents in macromolecular science and engineering, has published 22 book chapters and more than 220 peer-reviewed publications.
He received his bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
