Eric Amis

Research Interest:

Research interests are primarily in the areas of solution rheology combined with light, neutron and X-ray scattering methods to investigate the physics of complex systems such as biomembranes, polyelectrolytes, associating polymers and gels

Biography:

Dr. Eric J. Amis was the Acting Director of the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In 2006, Dr. Amis became the Deputy Director of MSEL following 11 years in the Polymers Division, the last seven as Chief of the division. Before joining NIST, he was on the faculty in Chemistry and Materials Science at the University of Southern California for 11 years. Dr. Amis earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1981 and was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate at NIST's predecessor, the National Bureau of Standards.

His primary research interests are in the application of rheology with light, neutron and X ray scattering to investigate the physics of complex soft material systems including polyelectrolytes, biomembranes, gels, networks, associating systems, dendritic molecules, and semicrystalline polymers. More recently, he initiated the novel application of combinatorial and high throughput methods for investigations of materials physics and biomaterials, which led to the establishment of the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center and an innovative program in measurement methods for systematic investigations of biomaterial interactions.

From 1992 to 2002 Dr. Amis was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Physics. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (1992) and past Chair of the Division of Polymer Physics (1998). He is a Fellow of the Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Division of the American Chemical Society (2005) and past Chair of the Polymer Chemistry Division (2008). He is past Chair of the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards and is currently Vice President of the World Materials Research Institutes Forum. He has received two U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medals, in 2002 for Leadership and in 2005 for Customer Service, for advancing new technical programs at NIST. Dr. Amis has chaired three Gordon Research Conferences: Macromolecular Dynamics, Polymers (West), and Combinatorial and High-Throughput Materials Science.

Honors and Awards: 

• Fellow of the American Chemical Society Division of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering
• U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal-Customer Service, 2005
• U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal-Leadership, 2002
• Fellow of the American Physical Society, 1992
• Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Southern California, 1989
• Chemistry Alumni Teaching Award, University of Southern California, 1988
• National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1981
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, University of Wisconsin, 1978
• Mary L. Collins Graduate Scholarship, Willamette University, 1976