Ica Manas-Zloczower: Breaking Barriers Without Asking Permission

From polymer processing to vitrimers, Ica Manas-Zloczower’s story highlights mentorship, persistence, and ANTEC recognition.

She earned a BS/MS degree in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute Jassy, Romania, a Doctor of Science degree from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in 1983, completed postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota, and joined Case Western Reserve University in 1985. She moved quickly through the ranks, becoming an associate professor within five years and a full professor in nine.

You can also read: Vitrimers in Polyolefins: Processing Control of Crosslinked PE.

Today, she holds the Thomas W. and Nancy P. Seitz Professorship in Advanced Materials and Energy and has been a Distinguished University Professor since 2015. Still, when I asked her what matters most, she did not start with titles. She started with people.

A Career Measured in People, Not Only Papers

I expected her proudest moment to be easy to predict: a major award or a breakthrough paper. She did mention a formal milestone, the Distinguished University Professor title, which she described as deeply meaningful. Yet she placed equal emphasis on something less public: the notes from former and current students who tell her she changed their lives. She described that as her highest achievement, because it keeps multiplying beyond the lab. She recently graduated her 36th PhD student and has advised dozens of master’s, undergraduate, and postdoctoral researchers.

Building Authority in Polymer Processing

Prof. Manas-Zloczower knew early on that polymer engineering was not designed to make it easy for women to lead. She stayed anyway, built authority through results, and earned the kinds of roles that shape a field. When she became President of the Polymer Processing Society, she became the first, and so far, the only woman to hold that position. She sees that milestone as proof that women can persist in STEM and lead at the highest levels.

Her story also includes moments that expose bias in a way that is hard to forget. She recalled submitting her first NSF proposal and receiving feedback that crossed from critique into stereotype. A reviewer suggested that before funding her research on mixing, she should “go and try mixing on a KitchenAid.” She described the remark as insulting, then moved to what mattered most: she did not stop.

Prof. Manas-Zloczower is an example of resilience and tenacity, two attributes that apply to both humans and materials.

What She Wants the Next Generation to Hear

She credits specific people for shaping her scientific identity: her PhD advisor, Zehev Tadmor, at Technion; her postdoctoral mentor, Chris Macosko, at the University of Minnesota; and her colleague, Don Feke, at Case Western Reserve University. She also acknowledged her husband as a cornerstone who helped her keep going, especially when comments or experiences turned negative.

As an engineer, I left this interview feeling inspired in a grounded way. She does not frame resilience as a slogan. Instead, she frames it as a choice you make repeatedly, in the middle of real work, when nobody applauds. She ties that discipline back to mentorship, too. Her advice to young women is simple and direct: believe in yourself, never give up, acknowledge the people who help you, and then give back to the next generation.

In a field that still measures authority through credentials, her career offers a sharper metric. She built influence by doing rigorous work, sustaining mentorship, and refusing to shrink when someone tried to reduce her.

Why ANTEC Recognized Her Work

Ica is a leading voice in vitrimers and vitrimerization, and her work continues to shape how engineers think about reprocessable networks and the circularity of thermosets. At ANTEC, that influence now has a visible marker. This year’s dedicated symposium recognizes a body of work that helped define the field. For me, it is especially meaningful to see that recognition centered on a woman who has given so much to polymer science and engineering.