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The Early Investigator Award celebrates emerging leaders demonstrating rising talent who have made significant contributions to the field of polymer materials science and engineering.
The Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) has recognized Jovan Kamcev, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and leader of the Kamcev Research Lab, as a 2024 Early Investigator Awardee for his work on designing ion-exchange membranes with ultrahigh charge densities.
The PMSE Division, a branch of the American Chemical Society (ACS) established in 1924, serves as a community for scientists exploring the innovative design and application of macromolecules. By fostering connections and facilitating understanding in the field of polymeric materials, PMSE advances research with applications ranging from water purification to energy generation and storage.
“I am honored to be selected as an ACS PMSE Early Investigator Awardee,” Kamcev said. “I have been involved with PMSE since I was a graduate student, so I am happy to be recognized by the Polymers community with this award.”
The Early Investigator Award celebrates emerging leaders demonstrating rising talent who have made significant contributions to the field of polymer materials science and engineering. Kamcev and 23 other distinguished awardees will be highlighted at a special symposium during the 2024 ACS Fall Meeting in Denver, featuring Kamcev’s insights into ion-exchange membranes with ultrahigh charge densities.
Kamcev’s research focuses on ion-exchange membranes (IEMs), pivotal components in various water purification and energy-related technologies, including electrodialysis, fuel cells, and flow batteries. Despite their critical role, existing IEMs face a fundamental tradeoff between conductivity and selectivity, hampering the efficiency of electrochemical processes.
“It’s extremely difficult to design membranes that have both high conductivity and high selectivity,” Kamcev said. “The lack of such membranes limits the efficiencies of these electrochemical technologies.”
Recognizing this challenge, Kamcev and his team conducted investigations to unravel the underlying mechanisms governing this tradeoff. Through theoretical modeling and novel synthesis techniques, they successfully engineered membranes with unprecedented ionic conductivity and selectivity, offering a potential solution to this long standing dilemma.
“Our approach to membrane synthesis is not only effective but also cost-efficient and scalable. By democratizing access to high-performance membranes, we aim to catalyze the transition towards a cleaner, more sustainable energy economy.”
Jovan Kamcev
Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering
“Our approach to membrane synthesis is not only effective but also cost-efficient and scalable,” Kamcev said. “By democratizing access to high-performance membranes, we aim to catalyze the transition towards a cleaner, more sustainable energy economy.”
Kamcev joined Michigan Chemical Engineering in 2019 after completing a postdoctoral position in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Texas in Austin, where he was recognized as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow.
His research has earned recognition through prestigious awards including the NSF Career Award (2023), the DOE Early Career Research Award (2021), the North American Membrane Society Young Membrane Scientist Award (2021), and the Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Science and Engineering (2019), among many others.