Planning Grant: I/UCRC for Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites

1266159爱荷华州州立大学;大卫格威尔1266249马萨诸塞州洛厄尔大学;玛格丽特SobkowiczKline拟议中的中心的目标是：提高对生物塑料和生物复合材料的合成，加工，性能和复合的基本理解;为工业合作伙伴开发可靠的材料特性数据;并支持可再生材料的大规模实施。爱荷华州州立大学和马萨诸塞州洛厄尔大学正在合作建立拟议中的中心，爱荷华州州立大学作为牵头机构。拟议工作的智力价值在于创造变革性的新材料和加工技术，以及必要的可靠、可比的材料数据，以实现生物可再生替代材料的高效和有利可图的工业使用。这将减少对石油的依赖和有害温室气体的排放。研究人员团队包括来自聚合物加工，聚合物化学，材料科学和作物利用领域的专家。它结合了广泛的经验和专业知识，允许全面的跨学科方法。该中心的愿景是发展知识，使其能够以具有吸引力的规模生产一系列高价值产品，包括塑料，涂料，粘合剂和复合材料，这些产品与当前的制造系统兼容，从而促进农村经济发展和可持续性。拟建的中心将对环境和经济产生积极影响。该中心通过研究产生的知识将加速对生物塑料的需求，促进大量可持续的劳动力，而这些劳动力不太可能被外包。由于大部分研究将由本科生/研究生和博士后研究助理进行，该中心将培训和教育未来的科学家和工程师。该中心还将准备针对K-12教师的基于网络的视频，这些视频将提供如何在教室中制作简单易用的现成生物塑料的指导。通过利用各校区现有的活动，该中心将努力实现50%的代表性不足的学生招聘。此外，通过与相同的组织合作，并使用类似的方法，该中心将努力留住90%的学生。

1266159 Iowa State University; David Grewell 1266249 University of Massachusetts Lowell; Margaret SobkowiczKline The goals of the proposed center are: to improve the basic understanding of the synthesis, processing, properties, and compounding of bioplastic and biocomposite materials; to develop reliable material characteristics data for industrial partners; and to support large-scale implementation of renewable magterials. Iowa State University and the University of Massachusetts Lowell are collaborating to establish the proposed center, with Iowa State University as the lead institution. The intellectual merit of the proposed work lies in the creation of transformative new materials and processing technologies and the necessary reliable, comparable material data to allow efficient and profitable industrial use of biorenewable alternative materials. This will reduce dependence on petroleum and the release of harmful greenhouse gases. The team of researchers includes experts from the fields of polymer processing, polymer chemistry, materials science, and crop utilization. It combines a wide breadth of experience and expertise allowing a well-rounded interdisciplinary approach. The proposed center's vision is to develop the knowledge that will allow the production of an array of high-value products, including plastics, coatings, adhesives, and composites, from agricultural feedstocks that are compatible with current manufacturing systems at attractive scales and thereby promote rural-based economic development and sustainability. The proposed center will have positive impacts on the environment and the economy. The knowledge generated through research at the center will accelerate the demand for bioplastics, promoting a substantial, sustainable workforce that is less likely to be outsourced. Because much of the research will be conducted by undergraduate/graduate students and postdoctoral research associates, this center will train and educate future scientists and engineers. The center will also prepare web-based videos targeted at K-12 teachers that will provide instructions on how to make simple and easy off-the-shelf bioplastics in the classrooms. By leveraging existing activities on the various campuses, the center will strive to achieve 50% recruitment of under-represented students. In addition, by working with the same organizations and using a similar approach, the center will strive to retain 90% of these students.