The James L White Award will be given at PPS-33 to Phil Coates for the development of solid phase orientation processing routes which are exploited in the manufacture of products with greatly enhanced properties.

Prof. Coates has exploited solid phase processing of polymers (at temperatures above Tg but below Tm), to attain stable, molecularly oriented structures with significant, controlled improvement in modulus, tensile strength, thermal conductivity, creep resistance, impact resistance, diffusion behaviour and drug elution. His work from the 1970s, when he invented the polymer die-drawing process, to the present has established the excellent team in the Polymer IRC at Bradford as the leaders in solid-phase polymer orientation with extensive journal publications, the research book in this area (PPS series), a range of patents with collaborators, and a large industrial (including BP Chemicals, Bridon International, Dow, Sinopec, Sabic, Smith & Nephew, Arterius) and government research contract portfolio. The Polymer IRC research led by Phil has been commercialised in macro to micro products, including highly stable building materials exploiting controlled cavitation with orientation (via a Dow spin out company in the USA, Eovations LLC); suitcases (CURVTM e.g. Samsonite); and high  precision arterial stents (Arterius Ltd); with other products such as shape memory tissue fixations and drug-eluting implants in development.

His research has developed fundamental understanding of the mechanics of solid-phase deformation behaviour of polymers, with new constitutive relationships and physical modelling used to achieve molecular-related understanding of deformation and feed computer modelling and control of structure. This has underpinned inventive steps in the design and implementation of batch and continuous processes, and these die-drawing process technologies have been transferred to industry at both large and small scales, and also to academy, the latter via Royal Society Newton support for in-situ x-ray beam line studies of die drawing structure  development in a joint international research laboratory in Changchun, China. This forms part  of the highly successful Science Bridges China (2009 on) advanced materials platform    formedand led by Prof. Coates, with over 200 leading Chinese and UK academics.