[2] Prior to his appointment as chair, Cooper was selected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society for his success in the field of chemical engineering.
[12] Following his resignation, Cooper joined the faculty of Ohio State University (OSU) in January 2004 as chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
[6] Upon joining the faculty at OSU, Cooper continued to conduct research on the chemistry and microphase morphology of polyurethane multiblock polymers.
In 2011, his "contributions to polymer chemistry, biomedical polyurethanes, blood compatibility and academic administration" was recognized with an election to the National Academy of Engineering.
He was cited as being "a true pioneer in the biomaterials field, having broken vital new ground in understanding interactions of polymeric materials with physiological fluids and tissues since more than 40 years ago.
He was specifically recognized for his research that "showed polyurethane thermoplastic elastomers are suitable materials for a variety of blood and tissue contact applications.