Thomas Epps, III

Allan & Myra Ferguson Distinguished Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware; Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Lignolix

About

Thomas is the Allan & Myra Ferguson Distinguished Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware (UD) with appointments in Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. He is Director of the Center for Research in Soft matter & Polymers (CRiSP), Director of the NSF MRSEC at UD called CHARM (Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials) and Deputy Director of the DOE EFRC at UD called CPI (Center for Plastics Innovation). His research expertise includes polymers and materials from biobased and plastics waste feedstocks, polymeric materials for ion-conduction membranes, polymer composites for toxic agent remediation, and nanostructured assemblies for targeted drug delivery and gene therapy. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, American Chemical Society (overall, POLY, PMSE), American Institute of Chemical Engineers, National Academy of Inventors, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Thomas has over 170 publications, 16 patents, and several technologies under development.

Education

University of Minnesota

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering / December, 2004

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.S., Chemical Engineering (Practice School) / December, 1999

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

B.S., Chemical Engineering / December, 1998

Experience

University of Delaware

Allan & Myra Ferguson Distinguished Chair of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering / January, 2021 — Present

Deputy Director - Center for Plastics Innovation (CPI) - a DOE EFRC / August, 2020 — Present

Director of UD MRSEC (Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials) - UD CHARM / July, 2020 — Present

Director of Center for Research in Soft matter & Polymers (CRiSP) / January, 2019 — Present

Professor of Materials Science & Engineering / August, 2016 — Present

Thomas & Kipp Gutshall Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering / August, 2016 — January, 2021

Thomas & Kipp Gutshall Associate Professor / September, 2012 — August, 2016

Assistant Professor / September, 2006 — August, 2012

Co-Director, Energy and Sustainability REU Program / March, 2008 — September, 2011

NSF program to promote the recruitment of talented students into research careers in science and engineering, particularly energy and sustainability.

Epps Cubed Consulting

Chief Executive Officer / January, 2019 — Present

Science and Engineering consulting focused on polymers and plastics - expert witness; patent infringement; scale-up and process design; materials design, characterization, and evaluation.

Lignolix, LLC

Founder and Chief Scientific Officer / June, 2019 — Present

Lignolix focuses on sustainably making materials from renewable biomass, such as lignin, a major component of trees and plants that paper manufacturers typically throw away. The technology developed by the Lignolix team is uniquely scalable, and unlocking the value of lignin will have a sizeable economic and environmental impact.

Delaware Biotechnology Institute

Affiliated Faculty Member / September, 2006 — Present

Work is focused on drug delivery and environmental proteomics and metabolomics

Arab-American Frontiers in Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Participant / January, 2016 — January, 2016

National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow / January, 2004 — January, 2006

Lucent Technologies

Summer Intern / January, 1999 — January, 1999

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