Rigoberto “Gobet” Advincula, a Governor’s Chair Professor jointly appointed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, has been named a 2026 Fellow of the American Chemical Society’s Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division. The distinction places Advincula among researchers whose work has helped turn fundamental chemical discoveries into technologies with practical value for industry, national laboratories and society.
The fellowship recognizes chemists and chemical engineers who have made significant and innovative contributions to applied chemistry or chemical engineering, while also demonstrating sustained professional service. Advincula was selected for research and scholarship that have advanced the understanding of polymers and advanced materials, as well as for his role in helping move scientific ideas from the laboratory toward real-world applications.
The American Chemical Society’s Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division is the oldest technical division within the society. Established in 1908, it was created to strengthen the connection between chemical science and industrial practice. Its broad mission includes supporting research that transforms molecular discoveries into useful products, manufacturing methods and engineering processes. The division brings together industrial chemists, chemical engineers, academic researchers and scientists working at national laboratories.
Its Fellow program, established in 2007, honors researchers who have made major contributions to applied chemistry or chemical engineering and who have also provided outstanding service to the profession. In Advincula’s case, the recognition reflects not only the scientific importance of his work, but also his influence as a scholar, editor, mentor and leader in the materials research community.
At Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Advincula leads the Macromolecular Nanomaterials Group. The center is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility, providing researchers with access to specialized instruments, fabrication capabilities and expertise for studying materials at the nanoscale. At this scale, materials can exhibit properties that differ substantially from those of the same substances in bulk form, making the control of molecular structure essential to their performance.
Advincula’s research focuses on polymers and advanced materials, fields that are central to modern electronics, energy technologies, coatings, sensors and manufacturing. Polymers are long-chain molecules whose mechanical, optical, electrical and chemical properties can be adjusted through their molecular architecture. By controlling features such as chain composition, functional groups, ordering and nanoscale organization, researchers can design materials with specific combinations of flexibility, strength, conductivity, light response or chemical resistance.
Macromolecular nanomaterials extend this design approach by organizing polymeric structures at dimensions measured in billionths of a meter. Such control can influence how a material transports charge, interacts with light, responds to heat or interfaces with other substances. Understanding these relationships between molecular structure and macroscopic performance is a foundation of applied chemistry and chemical engineering, particularly when laboratory-scale discoveries must be made reliable, reproducible and suitable for practical use.
Advincula has contributed to this broader effort through an extensive record of scholarly publications, editorial leadership and mentoring. These activities help shape how new findings are evaluated, communicated and adopted by the scientific community. Mentoring is especially important in materials research, where progress often depends on collaboration across chemistry, physics, engineering, computation and advanced characterization. Training researchers who can work across these boundaries strengthens the pipeline for future technological development.
The division also named University of Washington Professor Larry R. Dalton as a 2026 Fellow. Dalton was recognized for contributions to electro-optics, photonics, materials design and nanophotonics, areas involving the control of light and its interaction with engineered materials. Together, the two selections highlight the division’s wide reach, from polymer and macromolecular materials to optical technologies that depend on precisely designed molecular and nanoscale structures.
Advincula’s fellowship underscores the growing importance of materials research that connects discovery with application. New materials can enable more efficient devices, more durable coatings, improved sensors and advanced manufacturing strategies, but achieving those outcomes requires more than identifying a promising chemical structure. Researchers must understand how materials behave under realistic conditions, how they can be processed consistently and how their performance can be integrated into engineered systems. Work at the interface of molecular science and engineering is therefore critical to technological progress.
Through his position at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Advincula contributes to an ecosystem designed to accelerate that translation. National laboratories provide large-scale scientific facilities and multidisciplinary expertise, while universities support education, fundamental investigation and the development of new researchers. The combination allows materials discoveries to be examined from molecular principles through nanoscale behavior and, ultimately, toward potential industrial use.
The recognition also arrives as the United States continues to focus on strengthening domestic innovation and industrial competitiveness. Advanced materials are foundational to sectors ranging from energy and electronics to transportation and manufacturing. Researchers who can connect chemical design with scalable performance help address the challenge of converting promising laboratory results into technologies capable of supporting national priorities.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science by UT-Battelle. The Office of Science is the largest single supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and funds research intended to address major scientific and technological challenges. Advincula’s 2026 fellowship reflects the role of that research enterprise in advancing materials science while cultivating the people and collaborations needed to carry discoveries beyond the laboratory.
Subject of Research: Applied chemistry, chemical engineering, polymers and advanced macromolecular nanomaterials
Article Title: Oak Ridge Materials Scientist Rigoberto Advincula Named 2026 ACS Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fellow
Web References: American Chemical Society Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division Fellows announcement; U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science
References: Oak Ridge National Laboratory; U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science; American Chemical Society Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division
Image Credits: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy
Keywords
Rigoberto Advincula, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, American Chemical Society, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, polymers, macromolecular nanomaterials, applied chemistry, chemical engineering, advanced materials, nanotechnology, materials science, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, DOE Office of Science
