Geoff Coates is one of 155 new members elected to the National Academy of Inventors. The 2017 NAI fellows will be inducted April 5, 2018 at the NAI annual conference in Washington, D.C.
Geoff’s teaching and research interests involve science at the interface of organic, inorganic and materials chemistry. The broader impacts of his research include benign polymers and chemical synthesis, the use of renewable resources, and economical energy storage and conversion. The Coates Research Group focuses on the development of new synthetic strategies for producing polymers of defined structure. His group’s recent work offers a new approach to recycling plastic.
He is co-founder of Novomer, which produces high-performance, cost-effective and environmentally responsible polymers and chemicals, and Ecolectro, which develops and manufactures enhanced polymers for clean energy, chemical and water applications. Both companies are founded on his Cornell-developed technologies.
Following his 1989 graduation from Wabash, Geoff received his doctorate in organic chemistry from Stanford University, then joined the Cornell faculty in 1997 following postdoctoral studies at Caltech. In 2008, he was named the Tisch University Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell.
Congratulations, Geoff!
