Michigan Molecular Institute
Introduction rightThe '''Michigan Molecular Institute''' (MMI) was an advanced polymer research and education organization based in Midland, Michigan which ceased operations in 2015.MMI was founded in 1971 as an independent, nonprofit research and education organization for the purpose of conducting basic and applied research in polymer science and technology. The research focus was primarily on materials science, with specialties in the fields of photonics, membranes, specialty coatings, unique delivery systems, analytical testing and other areas. In later years, the Institute modified its mission statement to emphasize technological development with a commercial orientation in mind. In addition to its research initiatives, MMI served as the launching pad for several spinout businesses, including '''''Dendritech''''', a commercial dendrimer production facility; '''''Impact Analytical''''', which provides analytical testing to a wide variety of companies; '''''Oxazogen''''', a commercialization company in the development and manufacture of coating materials, production of specialty polymers and ongoing polymer research; and the '''''Midland Information Technology Consortium''''' (MITCON), which provides IT services and support to more than 35 non-profit organizations.
History MMI officially opened its doors under the name Midland Macromolecular Institute in the fall of 1972, although the facility had been in operation for the previous year. The building had broken ground in the spring of 1970, and it, like many of Midland's buildings from that era, was designed by local architect Alden B. Dow. The institute hosted a three-day dedication beginning September 28, 1972 with opening ceremonies that featured more than 400 scientists from throughout the world, chamber music from the Cleveland Quartet, several presentations and public tours. The featured speakers for the ceremonies were Dr. Herman Francis Mark, considered by many to be the father of macromolecular sciences, and Dr. Paul J. Flory, who two years later would be awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Two other speakers were Prof. Dr. Donald Lyman and Prof. Dr. Edgar Andrews. Other notable attendees included Dr. Melvin Calvin, the 1961 winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry; Dr. Charles Overberger, then the vice-president for research at the University of Michigan; and Herbert D. "Ted" Doan, president of the Michigan Foundation for Advanced Research, which was MMI's primary financial backer in its early days.MMI's first director was Dr. H.G. Elias, who came to Midland from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Beyond funding from MFAR, early financial supporters of MMI were the Herbert H. & Grace A. Dow Foundation, The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation and the Charles J. Strosacker Foundation. In the institute's early days, Elias said MMI would be run much like a university department, although its founders expected MMI would advance macromolecular science knowledge in a way that universities could not. One similarity: MMI opened its doors as a not-for-profit organization, which it remains today.MMI's first 15 years of research of advanced composite materials and polymer technology contributed to Michigan's ability to entice plastics- and composite-related industries to build in the state, and its affiliation with Central Michigan University and Michigan Technological University allowed it to offer master's and doctorate degrees in related research fields. In the early 1990s, MMI began to shift its focus toward creating technology that could be licensed for commercialization.Over the years, six men have led the institute as President and/or CEO, including Elias (1972–83); Dr. Robert E. Hefner (1985-85 and 1990–92); Dr. John Hoffman (1985–1990); Dr. James D. Allen (1992–1994); Dr. Robert M. Nowak (1994–2009); and Dr. James H. Plonka (2009–2015).
The Turner J. Alfrey Visiting Professorship  Year Turner Alfrey Visiting Professor 1974  George Smets, University of Louvain, Belgium 1975   Motowo Takayanagi, Kyūshū University, Japan 1976   Helmut Ringsdorf, University of Mainz, Germany 1977 Anthony Ledwith, University of Liverpool, England 1978 Ora Kedem, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel 1979 Bengt Ranby, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden 1980 Gerard Riess, Upper Alsace University, France 1981 Kenneth O'Driscoll, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 1982 Piero Pino, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland 1983 Robert N. Haward, University of Birmingham, England 1984 Joachim Klein, Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany 1985 Norio Ise, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan 1986 Robert Gilbert, University of Sydney, Australia 1987 James E. McGrath, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University  1988 Robert W. Lenz, University of Massachusetts Amherst 1989 Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Collège de France, Paris, France 1990 Gerhard Wegner, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany 1991 Donald R. Paul, University of Texas, Austin 1992 James Economy, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 1993 Garth L. Wilkes, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 1994 David A. Tirrell, University of Massachusetts Amherst 1995 Christopher W. Macosko, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 1996 Kenneth B. Wagener, University of Florida, Gainesville 1997 Takeji Hashimoto, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan 1998 Bruce M. Novak, University of Massachusetts Amherst 2000 Edwin L. Thomas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 2001 James E. Mark, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati 2002 Roderic P. Quirk, The University of Akron, Akron 2003 Matthew Tirrell, University of California, Santa Barbara 2004 Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh 2005 Markus Antonietti, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany 2006 Robert K. Prud’homme, Princeton University 2007 Stephen Z.D. Cheng, The University of Akron, Akron 2008 Thomas P. Russell, University of Massachusetts Amherst 2009 Joseph DeSimone, UNC (Chapel Hill) and NCSU (Raleigh) 2010 Richard A. Gross, New York University, Brooklyn 2011 Timothy P. Lodge, University of Minnesota 2012 Kathryn Uhrich, Rutgers UniversityTAVP speakers from around the world have been invited to present the latest, most up-to-date information in their particular polymer expertise areas. Typically, these courses were delivered in an intensive, one-week, daily lecture format. Visiting professors also spent additional time at MMI, participating in one-on-one and research group discussions at the Institute, and in collaborations and discussions with other nearby industrial and academic researchers. They also prepared and delivered a set of on-site seminars for many of the sponsoring organizations that parallel and supplement the formal course lectures. Financial co-sponsors of the Turner Alfrey Visiting Professor program included The Dow Chemical Company, Dow Corning Corporation, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University, the Mid-Michigan Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers, and the Midland Section of the American Chemical Society.The list of Turner Alfrey Visiting Professors includes several Nobel Prize winners.
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