Dr. Joel R. Fried is professor and chair of the department of chemical and biomedical engineering at Florida State University. Previously, he was professor and the Wright Brothers Endowed Chair in Nanomaterials at the University of Dayton. He is also professor emeritus of chemical engineering and fellow of the graduate school at the University of Cincinnati, where he directed the Polymer Research Center and led the department of chemical engineering. He holds B.S. degrees in biology and chemical engineering, and an M.E. degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He also holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.