I/UCRC Phase I: Center for Bioplastics and BIocomposites

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The I/UCRC for Bioplastics and Biocomposites intends to create of transformative new materials and processing technologies as well as the reliable, comparable material data to allow efficient and profitable industrial use of biorenewable, alternative materials. The center team includes experts from the fields of polymer processing, polymer chemistry, materials science, and crop utilization, allowing a well-rounded interdisciplinary approach. The participating institutions have state-of-the-art facilities for polymer processing and characterization to facilitate the development of fundamental understanding of the influence of processing on the thermomechanical properties of biopolymers and biocomposites.The bioplastics industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the US (10% to 20% growth annually). The proposed center effort seeks to take advantage of expressed industrial interest in leveraging research efforts in order to accelerate systematic development of corroborated material data and processing experience for these novel materials. This center intends to train and educate undergraduates, graduate students and post docs as the future scientists and engineers in this area. The center will also prepare web-based videos targeted at K-12 teachers that will provide instructions on how to make easy-to-make, off-the-shelf bioplastics in the classroom. This will provide a pathway to introduce young students to STEM and engage them in green technologies.