Eric Bruton received his BS and PhD in chemistry from University of Missouri–St Louis, where he studied hydrogen bonding interactions in inorganic and organic compounds in the solid state using crystallography as the major means of characterization. He worked at Chemir Analytical laboratories while finishing his doctorate, where he solved problems posed by customers in a variety of chemical areas, including polymers and materials. He next worked at Monsanto in the development of a new nutraceutical product, as well as the characterization and screening of new catalysts. After finishing his doctorate, Dr Bruton worked at Crosslink, a small R&D company, for more than six years on a variety of projects using conductive and electro-active polymers for the development of flexible photovoltaic devices and extremely flexible electroluminescent lighting (SuperFlex) for soft-walled military structures for the Defense Department.
Dr Bruton has been a member of the ACS for over 14 years and active in the local section since 2008, when he joined the Younger Chemists Committee (YCC). In 2009, he became the chair of the section’s YCC, which has been a finalist for the ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Local Section YCC every year. He handed the reins of the YCC off to a new chair in mid-2012. In 2011, he was elected Chair-Elect of the section and is currently the 2012 Chair of the St Louis Section.