Krzysztof Matyjaszewski

Krzysztof "Kris" Matyjaszewski (; born April 8, 1950) is a Polish-American chemist. He is the J.C. Warner Professor of the Natural Sciences at the Carnegie Mellon University Matyjaszewski is best known for the discovery of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), a novel method of polymer synthesis that has revolutionized the way macromolecules are made.

Matyjaszewski was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2006 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2019 for expanding the capabilities of controlled/living polymerizations and developing ATRP, a robust catalytic process for the radical polymerization of monomers. He received the prestigious Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 2011, the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences in 2015, and the Grand Prix de la Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie, France in 2020, the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences in 2023 the Blaise Pascal Medal in Chemistry from the European Academy of Sciences in 2026 and the Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Catalysis from the American Chemical Society in 2027.

Education and career Matyjaszewski began studying chemistry at Lodz University of Technology in late 1960s and later graduated from the Petrochemical University in Moscow. He received his doctorate from the Center of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1976 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Florida in 1977. From 1978 to 1984, he was a research associate of the Polish Academy of Sciences. From 1984 to 1985, Matyjaszewski held appointments at the University of Paris, first as a research associate and then as a visiting professor. This center is funded both by an active consortium and government agencies, including the National Science Foundation. In 1998, Matyjaszewski was appointed the J.C. Warner Professor of Natural Sciences. In 2004 he was named a university professor, the highest distinction faculty can achieve at Carnegie Mellon. Matyjaszewski is also an adjunct professor in Carnegie Mellon's department of materials science and chemical engineering.

From 1994 to 1998, Matyjaszewski served as head of the department of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon and assisted in recruiting additional faculty with strengths in polymer chemistry. At the same time, he formed a research consortium with various industrial corporations to expand the understanding of controlled radical polymerization, including ATRP, and accelerate the transfer of this technology to different commercial applications. A second consortium, the CRP Consortium, formed under his leadership in 2001, continues and expands these efforts, training university and industrial scientists in procedures for responsive polymeric material development and has comprised 60 industrial members. The same year, Matyjaszewski became an adjunct professor at Polish Academy of Sciences and at the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering of the University of Pittsburgh. making him one of the most cited chemists in the world. 2017 Medema Lecture Award, 2015 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, 2014 National Institute of Materials Science (Japan) Award, 2011 Applied Polymer Science Award, 2011 Herman Mark Award, 2015 Charles G. Overberger Prize, 2019 Chemistry of Materials Award, 2020 Paul Flory Polymer Education Award, 2020 Nichols Medal and the 2026 Blaise Pascal Medal in Chemistry from the European Academy of Sciences . He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Inventors, as well as a member of the Polish, Australian and European Academies of Sciences.

Matyjaszewski's work has been recognized in his native country of Poland. In 2004, he received the annual Prize of the Foundation for Polish Science, the most prestigious scientific award in Poland, referred to as the Polish Nobel Prize. in 2026. He has also received honorary degrees from the Technion, Israel, the University of Ghent, Belgium, Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Athens, Greece, Polytechnic Institute in Toulouse, France, Pusan National University in South Korea., Universite P. & M. Curie, Sorbonne in Paris, University of Padua, Italy, University of Coimbra, Portugal and University of Crete, Greece.

Awards and honors

1974 Award of the Scientific Secretary of the Polish Academy of Sciences 1998 Elf Chair of the French Academy of Sciences 2004 Prize of the Foundation for Polish Science 2009 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award 2010 Fellow, American Chemical Society Polymer Chemistry Division 2010 Gutenberg Award, University of Mainz 2011 Japanese Society Polymer Science Award 2013 Inaugural Akzo Nobel North America Science Award, American Chemical Society 2014 Fellow, National Academy of Inventors 2014 National Institute for Materials Science (Japan) Award 2015 The Charles Overberger Prize (ACS) 2017 Franklin Institute Award in Chemistry 2019 Corresponding member, Australian Academy of Science 2019 Chemistry of Materials Award, American Chemical Society 2020 Paul Flory Polymer Education Award, American Chemical Society 2023 National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences 2026 Blaise Pascal Medal in Chemistry from the European Academy of Sciences 2027 ACS Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis

Honorary degrees 2002 – University of Ghent, Belgium 2017 – University of Padua, Padua, Italy 2024 – Rzeszow University of Technology in 2024 2026 – Jan Dlugosz University, Częstochowa, Poland

Visiting professorships ESPCI ParisTech, 2011 University of Pusan, 2010 Lodz University of Technology, 2009 University of Tokyo, Fellow of the Japanese Society of the Promotion of Science, 2005 University of Paris, 1985, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2005 University of Bordeaux, 1996, 2004 Michigan Molecular Institute, 2004 University of Pisa, Italy, 2000 University of Ulm, 1999 University of Strasbourg, 1992 University of Beyreuth, 1991 University of Freiburg, 1988