Gelest, Inc. recently announced that Barry Arkles, Ph.D., founder, president, and chief technology officer, is the recipient of the American Chemical Society 2020 Frederic Stanley Kipping Award in Silicon Chemistry. The Kipping award was established in 1960 by Dow Corning Corp. to commemorate the achievements of Prof. Frederic Stanley Kipping.

This award is reportedly presented by the American Chemical Society (ACS) to recognize distinguished contributions to the field of silicon chemistry during the 10 years preceding the nomination. In addition to scientific achievements in the area of silicon chemistry, Gelest reports that Arkles has been instrumental in introducing products derived from silicon chemistry into new commercial applications, including advanced thermoplastic composites, oxygen permeable contact lenses, enzyme and cell immobilization, and interlayer dielectrics and barriers for semiconductors.

“Dr. Arkles’ research is characterized by curiosity, leading to scientific understanding, leading to applications in the real world,” said Michael A. Brook, science research chair in sustainable silicone polymers, and distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical biology at McMaster University. “While particularly adept at developing synthetic strategies to understand and then manipulate interfaces, he has made important impacts in areas ranging from novel silica precursors, to ultra-extensible rubbers, and bird-rejecting window coatings—all through careful and clever silicone chemistry.”

According to Gelest, this is the first time the Kipping award has recognized a researcher who has spent his entire career in the industrial sector. Arkles has over 300 significant publications, including over 100 patents in the field of silicon chemistry and related material science.

The formal Kipping Award will be presented to Arkles on March 23, 2020, at the ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.gelest.com and www.acs.org.