MRI/RUI: Acquisition of Equipment for Characterizing Polymers and Packaging Systems

这一重大研究仪器(MRI)奖的目标是获得评估和表征塑料材料和包装的设备，以支持罗切斯特理工学院新的综合塑料科学中心。该设备包括一台电脑控制的傅里叶变换红外光谱仪，用于测定聚合物的指纹；一台电脑控制的差示扫描量热仪，用于评估玻璃化转变温度和熔点等热特性；一台材料测试箱，用于测试塑料在不同温度和相对湿度下的拉伸强度；一台Oxtran 2/20，用于测量薄膜和容器的透氧性；以及Permatran 3/30，用于评估水蒸气的透过性。这些设备将被用于开发创新的应用研究项目，作为多学科课程的一部分。这项提议的主要好处是学生参与创新的应用研究，这些研究跨越学科，解决他们在塑料和包装行业的技术职业生涯中将面临的各种问题。学生将亲身体验先进的设备，并在反映工业的多学科环境中更好地理解聚合物和塑料的原理。这种方法将为竞争日益激烈的全球行业培养准备更充分的科学家、技术人员和管理人员。第二个好处是设备提供了创建新课程和改进现有课程的潜力，导致更多的学生参与研究生和博士学习。该设备还将为与食品、制药、汽车和塑料回收行业的合作研究开辟新的可能性，提高毕业生进入劳动力大军的质量和重点行业的国际竞争力。

The objective of this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award is the acquisition of equipment to evaluate and characterize plastic materials and packaging in support of a new Integrated Plastics Science Center at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The equipment includes a computer-controlled Fourier Transform Infrared spectrophotometer to fingerprint polymers; a computer-controlled Differential Scanning Calorimeter to assess thermal characteristics such as glass transition temperatures and melting points, a chamber for material testing of the tensile strength of plastics under different temperatures and relative humidity; an Oxtran 2/20 to measure the oxygen permeability of films and containers; and a Permatran 3/30 to evaluate water vapor transmission. The equipment will be used to develop innovative applied research projects as part of a multidisciplinary curriculum.The principal benefit of this proposal is student participation in innovative applied research that cuts across disciplines and addresses the kinds of problems they will face in technological careers in the plastics and packaging industries. Students will have hands on experience with advanced equipment and gain a better understanding of the principles of polymers and plastics in a multidisciplinary environment that mirrors industry. This approach will generate better prepared scientists, technologists and managers for an increasingly competitive global industry. A second benefit is the potential the equipment offers for the creation of new courses and the improvement of existing courses, leading to the participation of more students in graduate and doctoral studies. The equipment also will open up new possibilities for collaborative research with the food, pharmaceutical, automotive, and plastic-recycling industries, improving the quality of graduates entering the workforce and the international competitiveness of key industries.