An Integrated Polymer Synthesis, Processing, and Characterization Laboratory for Physics and Chemistry Majors

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In response to the requests of local industrial partners, the University of Oregon is adapting their curriculum in polymer science to better prepare undergraduate students for careers in the polymer sciences. This change in curriculum involves the creation of an internship program for our undergraduate students with local polymer industry and the implementation of a new undergraduate polymer laboratory. The intern program is modeled after a NSF funded internship program for undergraduate students with the semiconductor industry. In our program, students spend three terms (an academic year) working as interns. To prepare their laboratory skills in polymer synthesis and characterization, a polymer characterization laboratory is introduced into the curriculum. Students must successfully complete the laboratory before entering the intern program. The laboratory course constitutes an essential component of the program since it exposes physics and chemistry majors to cutting edge issues in polymer science using state of the art instrumentation. Our work involves: 1) facilities that enable cutting-edge synthetic techniques such as synthesis in microemulsions and air-sensitive anionic synthesis, 2) capabilities for molecular weight and size distributions that facilitate the connection between synthesis, processing, and properties, 3) a differential scanning calorimeter for characterization of polymer thermal properties, and 4) a testing station for characterization of polymer mechanical properties. These facilities serve to delineate the underlying goal of our program which is also coincident with that of our industrial affiliates: to help students develop an understanding of the overall process of polymer material production, from state-of-the-art synthetic techniques through detailed microscopic and macroscopic characterization.