Eric Baer

Eric Baer is an internationally recognised researcher in solid state polymers and plastics. Baer is noted for contributions to understanding elastomeric polyolefins, rubber toughening of brittle polymers, and founding the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

He immigrated to the United States in 1947 and studied engineering at Baltimore City College. He continued his studies at Johns Hopkins University, receiving his master's degree in 1953 and doctorate in engineering in 1957.

He was hired as a professor of chemical engineering at Case Institute of Technology (now the Case School of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University), where he helped to create the first department of polymer science and engineering at a major US university, which was founded in 1967.

In 1978, he was made dean of Case Institute of Technology, but he resigned in 1983 to focus on research and teaching. He now serves as the Leonard Case Professor of Engineering at the Case School of Engineering. He has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Applied Polymer Science from 1986 until 2011. In 2004 he was inducted as member of the Plastics Hall of Fame.

Baer won the 2018 Charles Goodyear Medal of the ACS Rubber Division.

Selected publications

• Engineering design for plastics (R. E. Krieger Pub. Co, 1975) ISBN 0-88275-281-2
• High Performance Polymers: Structures, Properties, Composites, Fibers. (Hanser Gardner 1991) ISBN 1-56990-002-7
• "Relationship of Deformation Behavior to Thermal Transitions of Low Crystallinity Ethylene Copolymers," A. Chang, Y.W. Cheung, A. Hiltner and E. Baer, J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys., 40, 142 (2002).
• "Plastic Deformation of EVA, EVOH and Their Multilayers," V. Gaucher-Miri, G.K. Jones, R. Kaas, A. Hiltner and E. Baer, J. Mater. Sci., 37, 2635 (2002).
• "Confined Crystallization of Polyethylene Oxide in Nanolayer Assemblies" H. Wang, J. K. Keum, A. Hiltner, E. Baer, B. Freeman, A. Rozanski, A. Galeski., Science, 323,757-760 (2009)
• "Hierarchical Structure in Polymeric Materials" E. Baer, A Hiltner, HD Keith, Science, 235, 1015 (1987).