Eric Beckman, distinguished service professor of chemical and petroleum engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering, was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors 2020 cohort.
Beckman is the eighth Pitt faculty member to be named an NAI fellow, and the second with a primary appointment in the Swanson School. He has nearly 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, 26 book chapters and receipt of 40 U.S. patents with more pending.
Beckman’s research group examines the use of molecular design to solve problems in green product formulation and in the design of materials for use in tissue engineering. He is currently leading a grant from the MacArthur Foundation and NineSigma, in collaboration with Think Beyond Plastic, to develop innovations to reduce the amount of plastics that end up being burned or buried in landfills, or make their way into the world’s waterways and oceans.