Ezio Rizzardo

AC FAA FTSE FRS
Born (1943-12-26) 26 December 1943
Pederobba, Italy
CitizenshipAustralia
EducationUniversity of Sydney (PhD 1969)
Known forRAFT polymerization
Scientific career
Fieldspolymer chemistry
InstitutionsCSIRO
Academic advisorsJohn Pinhey

Ezio Rizzardo AC FAA FTSE FRS (born 26 December 1943 in Pederobba, Italy) is a polymer chemist at the Australian research agency CSIRO.[1]

Biography

Born in Italy, Rizzardo's family immigrated to Australia in 1957. After graduating from the University of New South Wales, he studied the photochemistry of organic nitro compounds at the University of Sydney, receiving his PhD in organic chemistry in 1969. He has worked on polymer chemistry at CSIRO since 1976.[1]

Research

His research interests include the kinetics and mechanisms of radical polymerization, and their commercial application.[2] Rizzardo is an acknowledged expert in chemical methods to control the polymer architecture produced by free radical polymerization.[3] His innovations include two techniques for polymer synthesis, nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization (NMP) and reversible addition−fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization (RAFT).[2] He is named as co-inventor on more than 40 patents.[1]

Awards and honours

Rizzardo has received multiple awards from CSIRO and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute for his achievements, as well as the Centenary Medal (2003) and the Prime Minister's Prize for Science (2011).[2]

In 2014, research by Thomson Reuters for their citation laureate prize named Rizzardo as one of three CSIRO scientists who were likely contenders for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, citing their work on RAFT. Rizzardo quipped that he would not be holding his breath on the night the prizes were announced.[4] The trio had been awarded the ATSE Clunies-Ross Award earlier in the year.[5]

He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (2002)[3] and the Royal Society (2010).[6] He was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia in 2018.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dr Ezio Rizzardo". CSIRO. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ezio Rizzardo". CSIROpedia. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Dr Ezio Rizzardo". Australian Academy of Science. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  4. ↑ Bridie Smith (25 September 2014). "CSIRO scientists Graeme Moad, San Thang and Ezio Rizzardo named as Nobel prize contenders". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Clunies Ross Awards Previous Recipients". Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Ezio Rizzardo". Royal Society. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
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