Michael Hickner

EAST LANSING — An award-winning expert in polymeric materials and Escanaba High School graduate has been appointed to the Craig A. Rogerson Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering at Michigan State University.

Michael Hickner is currently a professor of materials science and engineering, chemical engineering, and chemistry at the Pennsylvania State University. He joined MSU in January 2023.

Christina Chan, interim chair and a professor in the MSU Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (ChEMS), said the department is excited to have Mike Hickner join ChEMS as the Rogerson endowed professor.

“He will further strengthen and bring new dimensions to our already outstanding polymers program. We are grateful to our board member, Craig Rogerson, for endowing this important professorship,” Chan added.

Hickner said his new position at MSU will give him the opportunity to pursue new research avenues in sustainable polymers and composites, advanced additive manufacturing, and build world-class educational programs for MSU students and partners.

“I am from a Michigan State family, and this is like a homecoming for me. I am energized by what ChEMS has done over the last 30-plus years in polymer materials and composites, and I’m excited to now be part of the next phase. With the infrastructure at MSU, we can bring polymer materials into a new sustainable and equitable future for Michigan and for the world.”

In addition to his academic appointments, Hickner is the associate director of the Materials Research Institute at Penn State, an organization composed of 200 faculty members to promote materials research on campus through central facilities, large centers, and innovative interdisciplinary research. He is the co-director of Polymeric Materials and Composites at CIMP-3D – the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition, an American Makes project partner.

His research group at Penn State is focused on the synthesis and properties of ion-containing polymers, measurement of water-polymer interactions using spectroscopic techniques, additive manufacturing of polymer and composite materials, and the application of polymeric materials in energy and water treatment technologies. He has current projects with the U.S. Department of Energy on fuel cells and flow batteries and regularly works on federally funded research at the intersection of materials and energy.

Hickner’s work has been recognized by Young Investigator Awards from the Office of Naval Research and Army Research Office, a 3M non-tenured faculty grant, the Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award, and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, or PECASE, the highest federal award for early-career researchers.

He is an associate editor of the American Chemical Society Journal, ACS Applied Energy Materials, and is a member of the Electrochemical Society Journals Editorial Advisory Committee. He has co-authored 12 patents and over 200 publications that have been cited more than 26,000 times.

Before joining the Penn State in 2007, he was a staff member at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. He earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech and received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech. Michael is the son of Val and the late John Hickner of Escanaba, and is a Escanaba High School graduate of the class of 1994. He resides in East Lansing with his wife and two children.

Craig A. Rogerson

Rogerson, of Sarasota, Florida, is chairman, president, and chief executive officer at Hexion Inc. In 2016, he donated property in New Jersey valued at around $1.75 million to support the training of more practically prepared chemical engineers, which led to the creation of the Craig A. Rogerson Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering. Read more on Rogerson’s gift.

Rogerson joined Hexion in July 2017. Prior to joining Hexion, he served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Chemtura Corporation, a position he held from December 2008 until April 2017. Rogerson serves as independent board chair of PPL Corporation and on the boards of the American Chemistry Council and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

He received a chemical engineering degree from Michigan State University. He serves on the Michigan State University College of Engineering Alumni Board and on the advisory board of the Michigan State University Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Department.