Frank Blum named 2025 Oklahoma Chemist of the Year

Frank Blum has been named 2025 Oklahoma Chemist of the Year, an award given collectively by all American Chemical Society local sections in the state of Oklahoma. Blum, Harrison I. Bartlett Chair and Regents Professor of Chemistry at Oklahoma State University, led the OSU chemistry department in promoting growth and diversification. These advances in diversification of the department have been valuable in providing role models for the student body. His role in promoting the hiring of more faculty has enhanced the standing of the chemistry department within the college and among alumni.

Blum has taught several types of courses at OSU. He developed a course titled “Introduction to Chemistry Research” to help incoming graduate students understand their environments, departmental facilities, interactions with advisors, and other functions. He also developed a set of elective courses for chemical professionals that provide information on practical chemistry and give students the opportunity to work on their writing and presentation skills.

Blum has made major contributions to understanding how polymers interact with solid substrates. The Blum Lab has demonstrated how to make synthetic polymer composites at room temperature and helped develop the technology for and understanding of superhydrophobic coatings. Recently, the team developed a technology for making useful composites from postconsumer carpets and bottle waste parts, which will potentially reduce the impact of these materials in the waste stream. Blum’s research group has also worked effectively with Oklahoma companies to provide technical assistance, including getting a new recycling center built in Stillwater.

Service is a hallmark of Blum's professional life. He has been heavily involved in ACS activities at the national level through his work in areas such as nominations, awards, and publications—and he has served on the ACS Council. In Oklahoma, Blum and his students presented 32 papers at the Pentasectional Meetings, including a plenary lecture titled “Tough Stuff: The Polymer Age” in Tulsa in 2013, as well as other lectures in Oklahoma local sections and across the region. He served as program chair for the 2023 Southwest Regional Meeting.