Eric J. Beckman, Ph.D.
Dr. Eric Beckman is the George M. Bevier Professor of Engineering in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.  He is also a co-director of the Mascaro Sustainability Initiative, a center of engineering that focuses on the design of sustainable communities.

Dr. Beckman received his BS in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980.  After a period of employment with both Monsanto Plastics and Resins and the Union Carbide Corporation, Dr. Beckman went on to earn a PhD in polymer chemistry and processing from the University of Massachusetts in 1988. As a postdoctoral student, Dr. Beckman held a research appointment at Battelle’s Pacific Northwest Laboratory.

The two main research areas for Dr. Beckman are the use of carbon dioxide as either a solvent or raw material and polymer chemistry and processing.  Recent work has focused on:


  • Emulsion and dispersion polymerization on CO2
  • Copolymerization of CO2 and cyclic ethers to form polycarbonates
  • Generation of hydrogen peroxide in CO2
  • Extraction of heavy metals using CO2 technology
  • Enzymatic polymerization (with A.J. Russell)
  • Design of polymers for use in medical applications (with W.R. Wagner, A.J. Russell).
  • Design of photoreversible polymeric hydrogels (with A.J. Russell)

For more information on the projects Dr. Beckman is currently involved in, please select one of the following:

The research of Dr. Beckman and his colleagues has been published in a number of scientific journals.   He was also honored as the 1992 recipient of a Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, and more recently was the winner of the 2002 Academic Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for his efforts in the development of Non Fluorous High Carbon Dioxide-Soluble Materials.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Eric J. Beckman, Ph.D.
Phone: (412) 624-4828
Email: Beckman@engr.pitt.edu