25th Anniversary Sukant Tripathy Memorial Symposium

Sukant Tripathy, Professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, died on December 12, 2000 in a swimming accident in Hawaii after lecturing at a conference of the Polymer Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society. In 1985, he joined the chemistry faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He founded and served as director of the Center for Advanced Materials from 1992. He also served the University as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs from 1994 to 1996.
  • Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
  • Time: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Where: UMass Lowell, University Crossing, Moloney Hall Suite 203, 220 Pawtucket Street, Lowell, MA 01854
  • Cost: Free!

Faculty and industry researchers will present their latest work on advanced materials.

The University of Massachusetts Lowell honors the memory of the late Professor Sukant Tripathy at the annual symposium. Sukant was a renowned researcher and former director of the Center for Advanced Materials, university provost and vice chancellor.

If you or your group are interested in presenting a POSTER at the Symposium this year, please submit by email your: 

  • Title
  • Author(s)
  • Brief Abstract

Please submit no later than November 18, 2025 by email to: Susan_Damore@uml.edu and be sure to register for the Symposium.

The poster size is 42" wide x 36" high.

Preliminary Program

Morning Session

TimeEvent / SpeakerAbstract Title
8 - 8:30 a.m.Registration and Coffee
8:30 - 8:45 a.m.Welcome
8:45 - 9:30 a.m.Ammu Mathew, U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center, Natick, Mass.Cephalopod-inspired adaptive photonic structures
9:30 - 10:15 a.m.Professor Alfred Crosby, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MassachusettsAutonomously Moving Polymers for Advanced Robotics and Manufacturing
10:15-10:30 a.m.Coffee Break
10:30 - 11:15 a.m.Professor Jeong OK Lim, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North CarolinaDesign and Preclinical Evaluation of Clinically Favorable 3D Printed BMP-2 Conjugated Bone Substitute
11:15 a.m. – NoonProfessor Suri Iyer, Chemistry Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MassachusettsPushing Diagnostic Sensitivity to the Femtogram Range: A Versatile Nanoparticle Platform for Point-of-Care Detection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Dengue
Noon – 1:30 p.m.Lunch and Poster Session

Afternoon Session

TimeEvent / SpeakerTopic
1:30 – 2:15 p.m.Professor Gary Wnek, Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OhioProperty Improvements of Selected Polymers and Incompatible Blends Using Not-So-Common Processing Methods
2:15 – 3 p.m.Aneil Tripathy, Ceres, Research Affiliate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan Sustainability Initiative, MIT Sloan School of ManagementLessons from my Father: Innovation, People, and Massachusetts' ClimateTech Future
3 – 3:15 p.m.Coffee Break
3:15 - 4 p.m.Saswata Karmakar, Director of Chemistry, Sanofi mRNA Center for ExcellenceTBA
4 - 4:15 p.m.Professor Ramaswamy Nagarajan, Co-Director of Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers (HEROES) and Fabric Discovery Center, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MassachusettsClosing Remarks