Frank Leibfarth attended the University of South Dakota, where he was a Goldwater Scholar and graduated in 2008 with degrees in Chemistry and Physics. In that same year, he began a Ph.D. program in chemistry at the University of California Santa Barbara under the direction of Professor Craig J. Hawker. In 2013, Frank began his postdoctoral studies at MIT under the direction of Professor Timothy F. Jamison as an NSF Fellow. He began his independent career in 2016 at the University of North Carolina, where he is a distinguished professor in the Chemistry Department. The overarching goal of the Leibfarth Group is to develop synthetic methods that transform readily available starting materials into functional and sustainable thermoplastics that solve contemporary challenges in plastics recycling and water purification. The work of Professor Leibfarth’s group has been recognized as a Blavatnik Laureate in the Chemical Sciences, Beckman Young Investigator, Popular Science Brilliant Ten, Presidential Early Career Award in Science & Engineering, and Sloan Fellow, among others. At UNC, Prof. Leibfarth has been recognized by the Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and as the Winter 2021 commencement speaker.