Sindee Simon facts for kids
Sindee Lou Simon is an American scientist. She is a chemical engineer and a polymer physicist. This means she studies how materials are made and how they behave. She looks at things like the "glass transition" and special plastics called "thermosetting polymers." She also studies tiny materials in "nanoconfinement." Dr. Simon even studied ancient amber. She proved that glass, unlike liquids, does not flow over time. Today, she leads the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at North Carolina State University.
Meet Sindee Lou Simon
Early Life and Education
Sindee Lou Simon grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her mom was a teacher, and her dad sold parts for airplanes. A math teacher in high school helped her discover chemical engineering. This is a field that uses chemistry and physics to solve problems.
She went to Yale University for college. While there, she was a star swimmer! She was the captain of the Yale swimming team for two years. In 1982, she was even named an All-American for her amazing backstroke swimming.
After college, she worked for four years at the Beech Aircraft Corporation. She helped with the materials for their first airplanes made from special composite materials. Later, she went to Princeton University for more studies. She earned her Ph.D. in 1992.
Her Amazing Research
Dr. Simon started teaching at the University of Pittsburgh in 1992. In 1999, she moved to Texas Tech University. She became the head of the chemical engineering department there from 2012 to 2019. In 2021, she moved to North Carolina State University.
Her research focuses on how materials change. She studies the "glass transition." This is when a liquid cools down and becomes a solid, like glass. She also studies "thermosetting polymers." These are special plastics that become permanently hard when heated. Another area she explores is "nanoconfinement." This is about how materials behave when they are tiny, like on a nanoscale.
One of her cool studies looked at ancient amber. Amber is fossilized tree resin. She used her science skills to show that glass does not actually flow over long periods, unlike what some people thought.
Awards and Honors
Sindee Lou Simon has received many awards for her important work.
- In 2003, she became a fellow of the North American Thermal Analysis Society.
- In 2005, she became a fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers.
- In 2010, she was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society. This was for her big contributions to understanding how glass-like materials behave.
- In 2015, she became a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
She was also named a P. W. Horn Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech in 2010. In 2014, she won the Mettler Toledo Outstanding Achievement Award. In 2019, she made history by winning the International Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers. She was the first woman ever to receive this top honor from the society!
