Robert (Bob) Lenz, one of the founding members of the Polymer Science and Engineering Program at the University of Massachusetts, died Friday, July 2, 2010.
Bob, as he was known to all, was a distinguished polymer chemist who had worked in industry before joining the faculty at UMass Amherst in 1966 as one of the founding faculty of the Polymer Science and Engineering program. He retired in 1995.
As well as being an outstanding scholar, he was a remarkable mentor and distinguished educator. He is known for his pioneering work in liquid crystalline polymers and bacterial polymers. His textbook on polymer synthesis was translated into several languages and set the foundation for the teaching of polymer chemistry. He served for several years as editor of the leading journal of polymer science, Macromolecules.
A great-grandfather, Robert is survived by his wife, Madeleine, and his children Kathy Cunningham, Douglas Lenz, Cindy Goodman and Suzanne Lenz. He is also survived by his brother, Henry, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. The family has established the Robert W. Lenz Memorial Scholarship fund that will be for the UMass Department of Polymer Science.
Submitted by Christopher Ober
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