Dr. Judit E. Puskas, the Joseph M. Gingo Chair Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been named a 2015 ATHENA Award finalist.
The ATHENA Award is presented annually by Inside Business Magazine and awarded to two individuals in Northeast Ohio - one individual from the Greater Cleveland area and one individual from the Greater Akron area. The award is given to someone who has attained and embodies the highest level of professional excellence in her/his business or profession, has devoted time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community and actively assists women in realizing their leadership potential.
Dr. Puskas was the 2012 winner of GE’s Healthymagination Cancer Challenge and has led the development of the Advanced Materials in Healthcare Conference presented by Rubber Division.
Her research interests include green polymer chemistry, natural rubber biosynthesis, enzymatic catalysts, biomimetic polymerizations, polymers for biomedical application, polymer synthesis and characterization, polymer structure-property relationships, living/controlled polymerizations, elastomer/rubber science and engineering, biomacromolecular engineering, polymerization kinetics/mechanisms, women in science and engineering, science and engineering education.
In 2014, Puskas received $800,000 from NSF to accelerate her work on a new halogen-free material made from renewable resources. She also received support from the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society and the Breast Cancer Innovation Foundation of Akron, totaling $1.6 million for the project.
In 2014, she also received a $749,747 National Science Foundation grant to further her creation of a polymer-based cancer-fighting drug. When paired with a rubber polymer prosthetic breast, which Puskas has been developing since 2008, the drug works to target cancer cells.
The 2015 ATHENA Award recipient will be announced during the annual event on May 6, 2015.