Prizes & Awards

Chang Yeol Ryu Travel Fund

Chang Yeol Ryu was an enthusiastic attendee of the APS March Meetings and participant in DPOLY sessions. Whether in the classroom, his laboratory, or his office, Dr. Ryu had a significant impact on the education and career path of many students. To honor his incredible passion, APS will provide two $1,000 awards in memory of Dr. Ryu to support travel by students attending the APS March Meeting for the first time and presenting their research.

Establishment & Support

Rules & Eligibility

Awards will be given annually to two students who are attending the APS March Meeting in person for the first time, and who will present a poster or talk on their research. Students must be members of the APS and DPOLY to be eligible.

Nomination & Selection Process

Deadline: 5:00 pm ET on Friday, November 1st, 2024

The nominator should send a single pdf file including (1) a copy of the submitted abstract, (2) the student’s CV or resume, and (3) a letter of recommendation from the nominator, including confirmation that this will be the first time the student attends the APS March Meeting in person, to Rodney Priestley (rpriestl@princeton.edu).

About Chang Yeol Ryu

Dr. Ryu was a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Director of the New York State Center for Polymer Synthesis since 2014.


Courtesy of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Dr. Ryu was born in South Korea and earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Technology from Seoul National University, and a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. After postdoctoral research at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Ryu joined Rensselaer as an Assistant Professor in 2000.

Dr. Ryu was a physical polymer scientist well known for his work on polymer characterization and the study of polymer structure/materials property relationships. He was a leader in polymer separation using adsorption behavior of molecular interactions and their nanoscale self-assembly in solution and thin films. Most recently, his group was studying the development of 3D printing materials based on naturally available vegetable oil-based chemicals. Dr. Ryu engaged in many productive collaborations with researchers in the U.S. and Korea.

Dr. Ryu was passionate about education and regularly taught courses to freshmen, juniors, and seniors. He mentored scores of students as a research or academic adviser throughout his 21 years at Rensselaer.

Source: https://hr.rpi.edu/faculty-staff-memory/remembrance-professor-chang-y-ryu

2024 Recipients

2024 Recipient: Devosmita Sen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2024 Recipient: Victor Corona, California State University, Long Beach