Two UD chemistry profs recognized nationally for their inventions

Two University of Delaware chemistry professors were recently inducted as fellows into the National Academy of Inventors for their work.
The late Richard Heck was honored for his invention of what’s known as the “Heck Reaction,” which won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2010. The reaction changed how many science fields do work, including pharmaceutical manufacture and discovery, DNA sequencing and electronics. Heck died last October.
Norman Wagner III, UD’s Unidel Robert Pigford Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, was recognized for his “liquid armor” invention.

The invention is more formally known as shear thickening fluids (STF), and STF seems solid when you move across the surface, but if you stop, you’ll sink in. In a Q&A with UDaily, Wagner recommended watching this MythBusters video to get an idea of the basic principles (though his liquid armor involves dispersions of nanoparticles and not cornstarch):

Wagner said he started researching the liquid armor idea 20 years ago with funding from the National Science Foundation.
“Over time, once we understood the mechanism responsible for the shear thickening effect, we learned how to formulate and engineer STFs for specific applications, such as body armor,” he told UDaily.
He and his department at UD are now working with NASA to develop spacesuits containing layers of the liquid armor for astronauts going to Mars, and an experiment at the International Space Station is in the works for this year.
Wagner is also researching how the material might help prevent concussions through helmet padding.
He and a chemical engineering alum founded STF Technologies LLC to license liquid armor patents and put their inventions with the material on the market. The company is moving to a lab space on UD’s Star Campus this month.