Introducing our 2026 Sidney Lauren Memorial Lecturer
Sidney Lauren Memorial Lecture
Sarah E. Morgan | Professor
The University of Southern Mississippi
usm.edu/polymer-science-engineering
118 College Dr. Box 5050
Hattiesburg, MS 39406
Abstract
High Strain-rate Mechanical Properties of Phase Separated Block Copolymers
Material response to high shear impact is often complex with a combination of failure mechanisms and deformation modes resulting in damage that is unpredictable. Polymeric coatings have received attention for energy-absorption applications due to their rate-dependent viscoelastic behavior, potential to incorporate self-healing properties, and ability to retrofit existing structures. While a significant amount of research has been devoted to understanding the behavior of traditional materials such as metals and ceramics under high-speed impact, the behavior of polymeric materials, particularly phase separated materials, is less understood. We have prepared a series of polyisobutylene (PIB)-polystyrene (PS) block copolymers of varying architectures, molecular weights, and composition for systematic evaluation of the relationships of structure, processing, and morphology on mechanical properties. Anthracene-maleimide mechanophores have been incorporated to allow visualization of failure at the molecular level, and solution state ultrasonication was employed to evaluate the mechanochemical behavior of the polymers. The work was performed in collaboration with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), as part of the Multifunctional Materials in Military Engineering research contract involving multiple researchers in the School of Polymer Science and Engineering. In parallel with the research effort, USM and ERDC signed an Education Partnership Agreement in 2018, which supports student internships, a distance M.S. degree in Polymer Science and Engineering open to ERDC engineers, and adjunct faculty positions for ERDC scientists. The talk will highlight the impact of the research on student training and advancement.
Bio
Dr. Sarah Morgan is Bennett Distinguished Professor and Associate Director of the School of Polymer Science and Engineering at The University of Southern Mississippi. She joined the university in 2003 after a 14-year career at GE Plastics in engineering thermoplastics, where she held technical and managerial positions at GE locations around the world. Morgan’s research is focused on morphology control in bionspired polymer systems, high-performance polymers, and nanocomposites. She is equally passionate about polymer education and development of the next generation of scientists and engineers. Her research is funded by NSF, NIH, DoD, and industrial partners. She is Science Director of the state-wide NSF Center for Emergent Molecular Optoelectronics and PI of the multi-investigator Multifunctional Materials to Address Military Engineering U.S. Army Corps of Engineers research collaboration. Areas of Expertise Bioinspired water-soluble polymers, morphology control, nanocomposites, high-performance polymers College: Arts and Sciences School: School of Polymer Science and Engineering Discipline: Polymer Science and Engineering
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About the Sidney Lauren Annual Lecture
Pictured here is the Sidney Lauren Coatings Lab at USM, with his children, David and Barbara, visiting to celebrate this tribute.
Honoring Sidney Lauren
In September 2011, the School of Polymer Science and Engineering (formerly the School of Polymer Science and High Performance Materials) proudly established the Annual Sidney Lauren Memorial Lecture to honor Sidney Lauren’s lasting contributions to the field. That same year, our coatings laboratory was named in his honor, and two annual scholarships were created to continue his legacy of supporting education and research.
About Sidney Lauren
Sidney Lauren
December 25, 1917 - July 13, 2010
What I believe - By Sidney Lauren
“I believe that the doctrines of all the creeds of people in the enlightened societies that I admire most are basically similar, and that members of the human family should strive to elevate their behaviors above that of the other species in the animal kingdom. Only that behavior will justify the priceless gifts of reason, speech, devotion, and respect for each other, with which we, alone, are endowed.”
Sidney Lauren graduated from the College of the City of New York with a degree in chemistry and began his professional career with the C.J. Osborne Company of Linden, NJ. Rising to the level of Chief Chemist, Mr. Lauren joined the Johns-Manville Corporation in 1954.
While with Johns-Manville, Mr. Lauren served as Chief of the Finishes Section, and, while serving as Chief of the Finishes Section, worked with the Celite Division as well.
In 1972, Mr. Lauren left Johns-Manville to become Executive Director of Coatings Research Group, Inc. (CRGI) of Cleveland, Ohio. CRGI, an independent paint lab funded by its member companies, conducts joint research on behalf of its member companies. Mr. Lauren led CRGI during a period of growth that saw its membership grow to what was then a record number.
Upon his retirement from CRGI, Mr. Lauren relocated to New England, where he served as Director of Purchasing for the California Products Corporation and subsequently worked as a consultant in the paint and coatings industry. Among Mr. Lauren's many clients was the CR Minerals Corporation.
Mr. Lauren's accomplishments in the field of paint and coatings were recognized throughout the industry. A member for more than 50 years of the New York Society for Coatings Technology and the American Chemical Society, Mr. Lauren received some of the top awards his profession could bestow.
In 1966, he was awarded the PaVaC Award "for outstanding contribution to the protective coatings industry and the New York Society for Paint Technology, In 1967, he was the PaVac Award lecturer. The subject of his lecture was "Control of Tacticity of Polymers: Molecular Space Engineering." (The text of the lecture, along with the original lecture slides, was donated by his son and daughter to the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS.) He received the National Paint and Coatings Association George Baugh Heckel Award and was chosen by the Federation of Societies of Coatings Technology as a Matiello Memorial Lecturer.
Well into his retirement, Mr. Lauren remained active with the Coatings Industry Education Foundation (CIEF), an industry foundation dedicated to increasing the number of students majoring in polymer chemistry and working closely with and assisting the polymer chemistry departments of colleges and universities.