In September, Dr. Dennis Hess, Professor and Thomas C. DeLoach, Jr. Chair in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering was selected as a member of the 2013 class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS).  The ACS Fellows Program honors ACS members who have made significant contributions to the sciences and the profession, and who have provided excellent service to the ACS community.  Members retain the designation as an ACS Fellow, ACSF, for life. Hess, along with the other 2013 ACS Fellows, was honored at a ceremony during the ACS National Meeting in Indianapolis on September 9.  Professor Hess will also receive the Henry B. Linford Award for Distinguished Teaching from the Electrochemical Society (ECS).  The Linford award recognizes excellence in teaching in subject areas of interest to the ECS.  The award will be presented at the Society’s May 2014 meeting.

Dennis has been increasingly engaged with IPST and the forest bioproducts industry in recent years through his investigations of thin film and coating processes as related to the surface modification of cellulosic materials. Fundamental chemical and physical properties of the films are explored in order to devise unique film materials and processing sequences relevant to value-added products including paper and paperboard. His research has included paper coatings which are superhydrophobic, hydrophobic, oleophobic, and superoleophobic.

"The Linford recognition means a great deal to me because it acknowledges both my academic career and my involvement in educational and professional development activities within The Electrochemical Society," Hess says. “Similarly, I have highly valued the networking and journal editorial opportunities I have experienced over the years within the American Chemical Society.”