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Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin
Benny D. Freeman, PhD

Kenneth A. Kobe and Paul D. and Betty Robertson Meek & American Petrofina Foundation Centennial Professor of Chemical Engineering




photo of Benny Freeman
Office: CPE CPE 3.404 Mailing Address:
Phone: (512) 232-2803, 232-3810 The University of Texas at Austin
Fax:

(512)232-2807

 Department of Chemical Engineering
Email: freeman@che.utexas.edu 1 University Station C0400
UT Mail: C0400 Austin, TX 78712-0231

Website

Presentation Made to Prospective Graduate Students 2008

Educational Qualifications:
B.S. in Chemical Engineering, NC State University 1983
Ph. D in Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley 1988
NATO Postdoctoral Fellow, Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris, Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Structurale et Macromoléculaire, Paris, France (1988-1989)
Assistant, Associate, Full Professor of Chemical Engineering, NC State University, 1989-2002
Associate Department Head, NC State University, 1996-2002.
Professor of Chemical Engineering, UT Austin, 2002

Selected Honors and Awards
ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science (2009)
AIChE Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology (2008)
IBM Faculty Award (2008)
University CO-OP Research Excellence Award for Best Research Paper in 2006
Associate Editor, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry (2007 – present)
Member, Editorial Board, The Open Macromolecules Journal (2007 – present)
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Membrane Science (2005 – present)
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Applied Membrane Science and Technology (2005 – present)
Member, International Editorial Advisory Board, Membrane Journal and Korean Membrane Journal (2003-present)
ACS PMSE Cooperative Research Award in Polymer Science (2001)
Strategic Environmental Research and Development Project of the Year Award (2001)
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship (1997, 2001)
National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering – Japan/America (2001)
Alcoa Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award (2000)
Academy of Outstanding Teachers (1997)
College of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award (1997)
United Technologies Excellence in Teaching Award (1997)
ALCOA Foundation Research Achievement Award (1996)
National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering (1995)
NSF Young Investigator Award (1992)
3M Nontenured Faculty Grant Award (1991-1994)
NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship (1987)
Berkeley Outstanding Graduate Instructor (1986)
NSF Graduate Fellowship (1984)

Research
My research program explores the relationship between polymer structure, processing and properties. More specifically, we study the effect of polymer structure on the solubility, diffusivity, and permeability of small molecules in polymers and polymer-based materials. These fundamental studies bear directly upon membranes for liquid, gas, and vapor separations; controlled drug delivery devices and techniques; barrier plastics for food and specialty packaging; monomer and solvent removal from formed polymers; and physical aging of glassy polymeric materials and membranes.

Current projects include

  • Next Generation Gas Separation Membrane Materials
  • Nanocomposite Membranes for Gas Separations
  • Oxidatively Stable Desalination and Forward Osmosis Membrane Materials
  • Bioinspired Membranes to Control Fouling of water Purification Membranes
  • Catalytically Active Polymer Membranes for High Barrier Packaging

Selected Publications (out of 253)

  • Wang, H., J.K. Keum, A. Hiltner, E. Baer, B. Freeman, A. Rozanski, and A. Galeski, “Confined Crystallization of Polyethylene Oxide in Nanolayer Assemblies,” Science, 323, 757-760 (2009).
  • Greenlee, L.F., D.F. Lawler, B.D. Freeman, B. Marrot, and P. Moulin, “Reverse Osmosis Desalination: Water Sources, Technology and Today’s Challenges,” Water Research, in press.
  • Ju, H., B.D. McCloskey, A.C. Sagle, V.A. Kusuma, and B.D. Freeman, “Preparation and Characterization of Crosslinked Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate Hydrogels as Fouling-resistant Membrane Coating Materials,” Journal of Membrane Science, 330(1+2), 180-188 (2009).
  • Li, H., D.K. Ashcraft, B.D. Freeman, M.E. Stewart, M.K. Jank, and T.R. Clark, “Non-invasive Headspace Measurement for Characterizing Oxygen-scavenging in Polymers,” Polymer, 49(21), 4541-4545 (2008).
  • Hu, Y., M. Shiotsuki, F. Sanda, B.D. Freeman, and T. Masuda, “Synthesis and Properties of Indan-Based Polyacetylenes that Feature the Highest Gas Permeability Among All the Existing Polymers, Macromolecules, 41(22), 8525-8532 (2008).
  • Lin, H., E. van Wagner, B.D. Freeman, L.G. Toy, and R.P. Gupta, “Plasticization-Enhanced H 2 Purification Using Polymeric Membranes,” Science, 311(5761), 639-642 (2006 ).
  • Lin, H., E. van Wagner, B.D. Freeman, and I. Roman, “High Performance Polymer Membranes for Natural Gas Sweetening,” Advanced Materials, 18, 39-44 (2006) .
  • Kalakkunnath, S., D.S. Kalika, H. Lin, and B.D. Freeman, “Segmental Relaxation Characteristics of Crosslinked Poly(ethylene oxide) Copolymer Networks,” Macromolecules, 38, 9679-9687 (2005 ).
  • Merkel, T.C., B.D. Freeman, R.J. Spontak, Z. He, I. Pinnau, P. Meakin and A.J. Hill, “Ultrapermeable, Reverse-Selective Nanocomposite Membranes”, Science, 296, 519-522 (2002).
  • K. Nagai, T. Masuda, T. Nakagawa, B.D. Freeman, and I. Pinnau, "Poly[1-(trimethylsilyl)-1-propyne] and Related Polymers: Synthesis, Properties, and Functions," Prog. Polym. Sci., 26, 721-798 (2001).
  • Freeman, B.D., "Basis of Permeability/Selectivity Tradeoff Relations in Polymeric Gas Separation Membranes," Macromolecules, 32, 375-380 (1999).
  • Coker, D.T., B.D. Freeman, and G.K. Fleming, "Modeling Multicomponent Gas Separation Using Hollow Fiber Membrane Contactors," AIChE J., 44(6), 1289-1302 (1998).

 

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