Biography:
Edgar is a professor in the Virginia Tech (VT) Dept. of Sustainable Biomaterials, and associate dean in the Graduate School. He was a founding co-director of the VT Infectious Disease Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program. His interests include synthesis of novel polysaccharide derivatives, unraveling their structure property relationships, and exploiting their useful properties in demanding, high-value applications. He is a fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), and of the ACS Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division. He is an editor-in-chief of Carbohydrate Polymers. Edgar received his BS in Chemistry from Bucknell Univ. and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Duke Univ., then worked for many years for Eastman Chemical Company before his current appointment at VT.