Spencer D. Brucks Receives ACS Petroleum Research Fund Grant for Polymer Degradation Study

Harvey Mudd College Assistant Professor of Chemistry Spencer D. Brucks has been awarded a Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) grant from the American Chemical Society (ACS) to support his research group’s project studying the impact of stereochemistry on polymer degradation. Selected in the Undergraduate New Investigator category for the spring 2025 application cycle, Brucks’ award is part of $8.63 million in researcher investment approved by the ACS Board of Directors for 80 new PRF grants nationwide.

Brucks’ project tackles one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time: plastic waste. With global plastic production exceeding 400 million metric tons annually and less than 10% being recycled, new approaches to recycling are urgently needed. While many research efforts have focused on creating novel polymers from renewable feedstocks, Brucks and his team are taking a unique approach, investigating how the three-dimensional structure of existing petroleum-based polymers influences their ability to break down.

Focusing on polymers that contain alkenes in their backbone, Brucks’ research group uses stereocontrolled polymer synthesis to carefully control the geometry of these alkenes and then examine how the polymer shape impacts its degradability. Former group members Britney Baez ’25, Greyson Karis-Sconyers ’26, Ethan Flanagan ’23 and Aech Loar ’24 performed key preliminary work that served as the foundation of the grant application. The team’s first manuscript describing their results using ring-opening metathesis polymerization to create stereospecific polymers and assess their susceptibility to mechanical degradation is under peer review.

“This research award truly belongs to the entire team,” said Brucks, who noted that undergraduate students perform every experiment in his lab. “I help guide our investigations and troubleshoot challenges, but ultimately it’s the students who are in the lab every day performing experiments and working towards a deeper understanding of plastics and the natural world.” He added that he was “constantly impressed by students’ drive, creativity, and collaborative nature. Not everyone in the group has worked on this specific project, but everyone contributes to group culture and makes our team a place where we can go after challenging problems, and achieve results that can have an impact on broader society. I feel very fortunate to work with and learn from them.”

Find additional information about the Brucks research group at this website, and learn more about the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, including the full list of spring 2025 recipients.