BPI Seminar by Dr. Kevin Edgar
September 15, 2025, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Sustainability through Selectivity: Polysaccharide-based Hydrogels and Block Copolymers
Location: CHBE #202, 2360 East Mall Vancouver BC V6T 1Z4
Agenda
- 12:00 PM Introduction by Dr. Johan Foster
- 12:05 PM Presentation by Dr. Kevin Edgar, Professor of Biomaterials and Associate Dean of the Grad School, Virginia Tech, USA
- 12:45 PM Q&A
*Sandwiches & coffee will be provided from 11:45 AM.
Click to add to Outlook Calendar
Abstract
Polysaccharides are abundant, renewable, biodegradable, and as a class generally have very low toxicity. These facts make them highly attractive for replacing fossil fuel-based polymers as we seek to solve global problems including plastic pollution, energy security, and climate change. On the other hand, polysaccharides are by far the most complex of the natural polymer families, and in many cases are difficult to process and to modify selectively. In order to understand structure-property relationships, a necessity for effective utilization of these benign polymers, of course one must first understand structure. In this presentation we will discuss new methods for selective substitution and modification of polysaccharides that enable synthesis of block copolymers and hydrogels with new, useful, well-understood structures. There are many polysaccharides that are relatively straightforward to isolate from natural sources, but only a few than we currently utilize reasonably well. For this discussion, we will cover highly selective modification of linear dextran at its non-reducing end, as well as selective modifications of amylose and cellulose derivatives. We will describe how these new materials have promise for making some inroads into the problems described above, by displacing fossil fuel-based polymers and/or by displaying a highly useful set of properties and characteristics that can serve society.
About the Speaker
Edgar is a professor in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech, and an Associate Dean in the Graduate School. He is an active member of the Macromolecules Innovation Institute, and of the GlycoMIP NSF Materials Innovation Platform. Edgar was a founding co-director of the Infectious Disease Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (ID IGEP).
He is an Editor-in-chief of the journal Carbohydrate Polymers, an editorial board member of the journal Biomacromolecules, and a former editor and editorial board member of the journal Cellulose. He is a long-time member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), having served as Chair of a local section (Northeast Tennessee), a division (Cellulose and Renewable Materials, CELL), and three committees (Divisional Activities, Meetings and Expositions, and Nominations and Elections). He currently serves in ACS governance as a Councilor and is an elected member and elected chair of the Committee on Nominations and Elections. Edgar was named one of the inaugural class of ACS Fellows, and was also named a fellow of the ACS CELL Division. He received the Anselme Payen award, its highest technical award, from CELL in 2016. His graduate students have received the Graduate Student first place award from CELL four times. He has received award for outstanding mentorship (2022) and for research achievement (2020) from the VT College of Natural Resources and Environment. He was named as one of only 25 members of the VT Academy of Faculty Leadership (2023).
Edgar was a founding organizer of the Gordon Conference on Polysaccharide Chemistry, which created an innovative approach of rotating the conference among sites in North America, Europe, and Asia every two years.
Edgar grew up in northern New Jersey, about 10 miles west of the George Washington Bridge, and later migrated a bit further west, and then south. Edgar spent the first part of his scientific career at Eastman Kodak and then Eastman Chemical Company, focusing on polysaccharide synthesis and properties, and drug delivery, and has now been at VT for more than 18 years. Edgar received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Bucknell University, and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Duke University. He has published more than 155 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and has been awarded 27 US patents.