Thomas P. Russell, the Silvio O. Conte Distinguished Professor of Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has been selected for the Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nano-science. He will give a presentation at the 2012 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting to be held April 9–13 in San Francisco. The award recognizes both his pioneering research on polymer/nanoparticle composites and block copolymer thin films and his service to the materials community.

Russell has pioneered the analysis of polymeric thin films and the interfacial behavior of polymers and nanoparticles by neutron scattering and hard and soft small-angle x-ray scattering and diffraction. He has also focused on understanding and improving nanopatterning through self-assembly in block copolymer thin films. His achievements in the vertical alignment of block copolymer microdomains and large-area homogeneous nanopatterns are major milestones in block copolymer self-assembly.

Among Russell’s honors is election to the National Academy of Engineering, and he is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Neutron Scattering Society of America, the Polymer Division in the American Chemical Society, and the Materials Research Society. He also served on the MRS Board of Directors. Russell received his PhD degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.