July 9, 2009
PSU names new director
of BTI, KPRC
Pittsburg State
University has hired a new director to oversee its Kansas Polymer Research
Center and Business and Technology Institute. Dr. Andrew Myers, a scientist and
project manager with TDA Research, Inc., a Colorado-based chemistry and engineering
research company, will begin his new appointment Aug. 12.
Myers will oversee the
award-winning KPRC and its research staff, scientists who perform
groundbreaking research converting bio-based materials into plastics and foams.
He will also lead the staff at BTI, who focuses on small business support and
economic development in the region.
Currently working as a
primary investigator for TDA Research, Myers has developed a polymer and
coatings nanocomposite research program by securing
more than $2.6 million in federal funding from organizations including the National
Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA. During his
10 years with TDA, he has patented three inventions, published and presented
numerous findings in nanotechnology, and has been recognized as one of the
EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research “Success Stories.”
A native of
Indianapolis, Myers earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Purdue. He
received his master’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry from the University of
Rochester. He worked as a post-doctoral research associate for the University
of Washington in Seattle, and served as a post-doctoral chemist for Union
Carbide Corporation in Houston, Texas, where he devised and researched new
catalysts for polypropylene.
“Dr. Myers brought
together a unique skill set that includes an appreciation for participation in
scientific research as well as the ability to communicate the results of that
research to a broad audience,” said Dr. Brad Hodson,
vice president for university advancement at PSU. “To be able to communicate
with potential commercial partners, elected officials and the broader community
is an important asset when raising the KPRC’s profile among those key
constituent groups.”
Myers serves as the
current alternate councilor and past councilor for the Colorado Section of the American
Chemical Society. He is also a member of the BioEnvironmental
Polymer Society. He and his wife, Mary, have five children.
“Transferring technology
from the university to the commercial world isn’t an easy or simple process,
and I think PSU has a very innovative blend of business focus through the BTI,
as well as good science,” Myers said. “I am excited about building on the great
foundation that Steve Robb, Zoran Petrovic
and the BTI/KPRC staff have established. PSU can play a larger role in research
in the state of Kansas, and I think that will happen through continued presence
at the state level and involvement in organizations like the Kansas Bioscience
Authority. It’s exciting to be a part of that.”
---Pitt State
Press Release---