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

该主要研究仪器（MRI）奖的目标是获得用于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。该设备包括一台计算机控制的傅立叶变换红外分光光度计，用于指纹聚合物；一台电脑控制的差示扫描量热计，用于评估玻璃化转变温度和熔点等热特性；一个用于测试塑料在不同温度和相对湿度下的拉伸强度的材料室；Oxtran 2/20用于测量薄膜和容器的透氧性；用Permatran 3/30来评估水蒸气透射。该设备将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跨学科的创新应用研究，并解决他们在塑料和包装行业的技术职业生涯中面临的各种问题。学生将有先进设备的实践经验，并在反映工业的多学科环境中更好地了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产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，该设备为创建新课程和改进现有课程提供了潜力，从而使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市场的质量和关键行业的国际竞争力。

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.