Research professor Anil K. Bhowmick, Ph.D., in the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has been awarded the International Rubber Conference Organisation’s (IRCO) Gold Medal for his contributions to research, education, and industry in the field of rubber science and engineering.
“This is the overall recognition for my lifetime work. I have been working in the area of elastomers for the last 40 years, and this is a recognition of that, but I am especially honored because I am from an academic institute – a university – and generally this award is given to people working in the industry. So I feel great about this. I’m glad that my work [as an academic] is useful to the industry and has been recognized,” said Bhowmick, who currently holds 23 relevant patents.
“Many of my ideas, mostly published in the form of papers and publications in international journals, are used extensively in the industry,” he added.
First awarded in 1994, the IRCO notes that the medal should recognize “a personality of exceptional merit in the rubber community” and “have made distinguished contributions to IRCO conferences as an organizer, as chairman of conferences or symposia or as a presenter.” Bhowmick is the fifth US-based recipient to be recognized with the award since its inception.
“This award is given by the IRCO, which is based in the UK. That means my work has gone beyond the boundary and appeals to people overseas as well,” he said.
“Rubbers and elastomers are very useful materials,” Bhowmick continued. “Any automotive vehicle will use tires, airplanes use tires, even military tanks – they all use a lot of rubber materials. They are used extensively in critical applications, but not just those which people don’t often encounter.
“Rubber is the modern material of civilization. It has been a stable material for many, many years, and it cannot be replaced.”
The award will officially be presented to Bhowmick at IRC 2024 in Istanbul, Türkiye this October.