Monthly Mind - Dr. Kevin De France

Q-ACS is beyond excited to feature Dr. Kevin De France in this month’s Monthly Mind Initiative! Thank you, Dr. De France, for sharing your journey and highlighting the important and very interesting work you do in your lab. You can read about Dr. De France's journey and scientific pursuits below, and watch his wonderful video here: https://youtu.be/KvSVezjvR88?si=eVE48zWiQs5JAN5h.

Pioneering Sustainable Materials Through Cellulose, Proteins, and Purpose

Sustainability is increasingly a materials challenge, and Dr. Kevin De France is helping redefine how renewable resources can replace petroleum-based products across agriculture, packaging, water treatment, and biomedical technologies. In this month’s Q-ACS Monthly Mind, he offers a grounded, practical view of how materials chemistry can shift society toward a more sustainable future.

At the heart of the De France Lab is a simple idea: the natural world already provides exceptional molecular building blocks. We just need to understand how to leverage them for new purposes. The lab designs high-performance materials using cellulose and proteins, focusing on applications that reduce waste, improve environmental outcomes, and support circular economies. Rather than retrofitting old materials to be “greener,” the lab builds renewable alternatives from the ground up, rooted in fundamental science and engineered for real-world performance. 

Spotlight: Turning Canola Meal Into High-Value Biomaterials

A major direction in the lab is transforming canola meal - a low-value byproduct of Canada’s largest crop - into renewable, functional materials. Canada produces over 5 million tons of canola meal annually, yet most of it is underused, leading to waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. De France is leading a multi-institutional research initiative to change this, with the end goal of converting canola meal into functional materials that support Canadian agriculture. Such materials will include biodegradable agricultural films, delivery systems for plant and livestock health, scaffolds for cellular agriculture, and bio-based electrodes for carbon capture and conversion.

A Career Defined by Curiosity

Kevin’s educational journey began at McMaster University, where he majored in Chemical Engineering and Biosciences (2014). After completing his Bachelor’s, he remained at McMaster to complete his PhD (2019) with Drs. Emily Cranston (now at UBC) and Todd Hoare, investigating the design of cellulose nanocrystal hydrogels for tissue engineering applications. After a chance encounter at the American Chemical Society Spring Meeting in New Orleans, Kevin met Dr. Gustav Nystrom, Head of the Cellulose and Wood Materials Lab at Empa, Switzerland. This led to a Postdoctoral Fellowship, investigating the use of protein and cellulose-based material innovations for industry, highlighted by the development of sprayable packaging for fruits and vegetables. Dr. De France moved to Queen’s University in May of 2022, establishing the De France Lab in the Department of Chemical Engineering (with a cross-appointment to the Department of Chemistry).

With global interest in bio-based materials, renewable polymers, and biodegradable packaging rising rapidly, the work happening in the De France Lab sits at an important intersection of science and sustainability. The research demonstrates how natural materials can be engineered to meet modern performance demands, while supporting a lower-carbon, more circular future.

Check out the De France Lab Socials:

• Instagram: thedefrancelab

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-de-france/

• Website: https://www.defrancelab.ca/