Prof. Kris Matyjaszewski, inventor of atom transfer radical polymerization. Research in polymer chemistry within the Matyjaszewski group at Carnegie Mellon has been marked by significant accomplishments in three major areas: syntheses of novel inorganic and/or organometallic polymers, "living" carbocationic polymerization and polymers of controlled structure via radical polymerization processes. Matyjaszewski has developed methods for preparing well-defined polymers in systems that were previously thought to be impossible to control (e.g. polysilanes, polyphosphazenes and free-radical polymerization).

His most recent and notable achievements are within atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), which is currently perhaps the most robust method for controlling the radical polymerization of important monomers such as styrenes, acrylates, methacrylates, acrylonitrile and acrylamides. ATRP has been successfully used to synthesize various block, graft, gradient, periodic and statistical copolymers. It has also been used to introduce a variety of functional groups at chain ends and to construct macromolecules with novel topologies including star, comb and hyperbranched (or dendritic) structures. The impact of ATRP on polymer synthesis has been impressive.