Jose Maria M Kenny

Prof. José Kenny is Full Professor of Materials Science and Technology at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Terni branch) of the University of Perugia. He is also the President of the Board of the European Centre for Nanostructured Polymers.

Prof. Kenny got his PhD at the University of the South in Argentina and has realized a long academic career at the University of Naples, University of Connecticut, Washington University (Seattle) and the University of Catania. Since 1993 he is at the University of Perugia where he started and coordinated the Laboratory of Materials Science and Technology in Terni. The main areas of research are focused on the processing of polymers, composites and nanocomposites for applications in several advanced sectors: aerospace, automotive, biomedicine, food packaging, alternative energy and building. Moreover, in the last period, the research of Prof. Kenny has been mainly devoted to biopolymers (biobased and biodegradable), recycling (circular economy) and environmental impact of polymer based materials.

In more than 35 years of academic work, Prof. Kenny has authored more than 675 scientific publications in indexed international journals (Scopus h=93) related to the processing, characterization and applications of polymers, composites and nanocomposites with more than 30.000 citations. Moreover, Prof. Kenny participates to the Editorial Board of several international journals in the polymer field.

Prof. Kenny has organized numerous Italian and international scientific conferences including the ECNP Conferences on nanostructured polymers and nanocomposites (Dresden, Germany, 2005, Lyon, France, 2006; Corfu, Greece, 2007; Rome, Italy, 2008; Paris, France, 2009; Madrid, Spain, 2010; Prague, Czech Republic, 2012; Dresden, Germany, 2014; Rome, Italy, 2016; San Sebastian, Spain, 3-5 October 2018; Lodz, Poland, 2022) and the BIOPOL Conferences on biobased and biodegradable polymers (Alicante, Spain, 2007 and 2009; Strasbourg, France, 2011; Rome, Italy, 2013; San Sebastian, Spain, 2015; Mons, Belgium, 2017; Stockholm, Sweden, 2019; Alicante, Spain, 2023).

Prof. Kenny has coordinated numerous Italian and international scientific, technological and education projects and has been visiting professor at several European and American Universities. In particular, he has coordinated and participated to more than 30 European projects including the coordination of the European Network of Excellence on Nanostructured polymers and nanocomposites (NANOFUN-POLY 2004-2010) with the participation of more than 20 of the main European research centres in the field. The main output of NANOFUNPOLY has been the European Centre for Nanostructured Polymers that started in 2006 and still continue under the direction of Prof. Kenny to organize and coordinate European research on polymer nanotechnologies.

Prof. Kenny has been President of the European Society for Advanced Materials and Process Engineering (SAMPE) in 2001-2002 and has received the SAMPE Fellow Award in 2011 and the RAICES Award in 2012 granted by the Argentinean Ministry of Science and Technology. During the period 2015-2021, Prof. Kenny was appointed scientific attaché at the Italian Embassy in Argentina.

The didactic activities of Prof. Kenny at the University of Perugia have included the responsibility of the courses on Materials Science and Technology and Polymer Technology for the degrees in Materials Engineering and in Industrial Engineering. Moreover he has directed the European Master on Polymer Nanotechnologies and the PhD Programme on Materials Nanotechnologies. He has directed more than 100 thesis for the degree on Materials Technologies and more than 35 PhD Thesis at the University of Perugia.