May 16, 2012

UC Santa Barbara's Craig Hawker Wins Centenary Prize for Chemistry

Craig Hawker, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and of materials at UC Santa Barbara, and director of the campus's Materials Research Laboratory, has received the 2012 Centenary Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Established in 1947, the Centenary Prize commemorates the centenary of the society's founding in 1841, and recognizes outstanding international chemists who are also exceptional communicators. Hawker was cited for his outstanding creative development of new strategies for the design of novel polymers, which has revolutionized the field of polymer synthesis and influenced a generation of chemists.

"The UC Santa Barbara community joins me in warmly congratulating Professor Hawker, holder of our Alan and Ruth Heeger Chair in Interdisciplinary Science," said UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang. We are very proud that he has received this prestigious recognition from the Royal Society of Chemistry for his groundbreaking research in polymer design and in the field of polymer synthesis. It is particularly meaningful that the award also recognizes Professor Hawker's outstanding communication skills as a scientist and as an educator."

"I am thrilled with this honor, which is really a reflection of the wonderful students and researchers that work with me, coupled with the tremendous environment for multidisciplinary research that has been created at UCSB," said Hawker. "Having world-class colleagues and collaborators makes the hard work fun."

Hawker joined the faculty at UCSB in 2004 after serving as a scientist at the Center for Polymer Interfaces and Macromolecular Assemblies at the IBM Almaden Research Center. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Queensland, and his doctoral degree in bioorganic chemistry from the University of Cambridge.

A Fellow of Britain's Royal Society and of the American Chemical Society, Hawker is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the 2011 Arthur C. Cope Scholar award from the American Chemical Society, the 2010 Macro Group UK International Medal for Outstanding Achievement, and the 2008 DSM International Performance Materials Award from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.