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CU • News & Events

Clarkson Professor Awarded Industrial Grant from Estée Lauder to Develop Advanced Sunscreen Materials

Release Date
Monday December 6, 2021
Project leads from L to R: Research Associate Dr. Adrash Narayanan, Professor Mario Wriedt and Ph.D. Candidate John Hadynski
Project leads from L to R: Research Associate Dr. Adrash Narayanan, Professor Mario Wriedt and Ph.D. Candidate John Hadynski

Kodak CAMP Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Biomolecular Science Mario Wriedt recently secured an industrial grant from Estée Lauder to develop advanced sunscreen materials.

The goal of Wriedt’s work will be to develop a sunscreen that users need not reapply multiple times a day, but instead is effective all day long on a single application.

“Sunscreen, you apply it in the morning, and then you reapply it at some point,” Wriedt said. “This is because the UV filters in the sunscreen, they photodegrade. While they do their job absorbing UV light, they are degrading. We found a way to inhibit this photodegradation.”

Wriedt specializes in the rational design and synthesis of molecular assemblies, including advanced crystalline porous materials that form multi-dimensional networks suitable for a wide variety of applications. 

“Using our porous materials, we can trap and stabilize the UV filters so they do not degenerate over time,” Wriedt said. 

Along with funding for the research, the grant from Estée Lauder will also fund a post-doctoral research associate position, filled by Dr. Adrash N. Narayanan who recently joined the Wriedt Lab in September 2021.

With this advancement to a sunscreen product, Wriedt said, he is eager to introduce a new practical application from his research.

“We are excited to take our typically fundamental research to an applied level and doing something good for people,” he said.

Wriedt acknowledges his doctoral student John Hadynski who spearheaded an earlier crucial proof-of-concept study which has led the foundation for this project in addition to the Center for Advanced Materials Processing at Clarkson which played an important role in facilitating this industrial collaboration with Estée Lauder.

 

As a private, national research university, Clarkson is a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, scholarship, research and innovation. We ignite personal connections across academic fields and industries to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. With its main campus located in Potsdam, N.Y., and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region, Beacon, N.Y., and New York City, Clarkson educates 4,600+ students across 95 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, the arts, education, sciences and health professions. Our alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2.5% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. One in five already leads as a CEO, senior executive or owner of a company. To learn more about Clarkson University, go to www.clarkson.edu.


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News directors and editors: For more information, contact Melissa Lindell, Director of Media Relations, at 315-268-6716 or mlindell@clarkson.edu.

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