Jean M. J. Frechet

Research centers on functional macromolecules, their molecular design, their synthesis, and their applications. He has developed reactive insoluble polymers and pioneered their use as chemical reagents, catalysts, chiral auxiliaries or separation media. He has developed the chemical amplification approach that has become the basis of the design of modern photoresists for microelectronics. He has designed and realized several new approaches to globular dendritic macromolecules including the convergent synthesis of dendrimers and the self-condensing vinyl polymerization as well as the proton transfer polymerization routes to hyperbranched polymers. His research is diverse from fundamental concepts to synthetic and analytical methods, to practical applications. Current research areas include polymers for therapeutic uses, catalysis, energy harvesting, molecular recognition, imaging, and nanoscale electronics and photonics.