REU Site: Polymer Innovation for a Sustainable Future

REU 网站：聚合物创新打造可持续未来

• 批准号: 1950387
• 负责人: SARAH MORGAN
• 金额: $ 39.28万
• 依托单位: University of Southern Mississippi
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-04-01 至 2024-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1950387&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Polymer; Innovation; Sustainable

This Site is jointly funded by the Divisions of Chemistry and Materials Research in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Directorate.NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: This REU Site brings together undergraduate students from across the country to perform research aimed at critical societal needs with faculty and students in the state-of-the-art Polymer Science and Engineering Research Center. REU students, recruited from primarily undergraduate institutions, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and community colleges, work in interdisciplinary research teams and receive training in polymer science and engineering, science communication, sustainability, and life-cycle analysis during the ten-week summer program. Students participate in field trips to local industry, engage in outreach for elementary students, and prepare abstracts for presentation of their research at national conferences. This site helps develop the pipeline of science and engineering researchers with the skills to address the grand challenges of the 21st century while advancing fundamental research to support applications such as recyclable composites for aerospace and automotive sectors, on-demand degradable polymers for packaging, polymers from renewable feedstocks for drug delivery, polymeric solar cells, and flexible printed electronics. Most participants pursue graduate degrees in science and engineering after completing the summer program and are ultimately employed in research and development in industry, national laboratories, or academia. TECHNICAL DETAILS: The research objective of the REU site is to develop sustainable approaches to materials development to meet critical societal needs while improving utilization of energy and raw materials. Undergraduate student researchers are engaged in fundamental materials research efforts that span the complex, interdisciplinary facets of materials sustainability, including design of materials for recyclability and degradability, synthesis of polymers from renewable feedstocks, enhancing process efficiency, and designing polymers for renewable energy applications, while gaining the tools to assess the environmental impact of new material development. The research is organized in three themes: (1) Design for Recyclability and Degradability (2) Sustainable Polymers: (Bio) Renewable Feedstocks and Resource-Efficient Processing and (3) Materials for Sustainable Energy. Students are trained in state-of-the-art research facilities, including recently acquired X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) - wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and advanced imaging instrumentation, and gain interdisciplinary research skills through collaborative efforts with polymer computational, synthesis, analysis, and processing experts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该网站由数学和物理科学（MPS）理事会化学和材料研究部门共同资助。非技术描述：该REU网站汇集了来自全国各地的本科生，与最先进的聚合物科学与工程研究中心的教师和学生一起进行针对关键社会需求的研究。REU学生主要从本科院校，历史上的黑人学院和大学（HBCU）和社区学院招募，在跨学科研究团队中工作，并在为期十周的暑期课程中接受聚合物科学与工程，科学传播，可持续性和生命周期分析方面的培训。学生参加实地考察当地产业，从事小学生的推广，并准备在全国会议上介绍他们的研究摘要。该网站有助于开发具有技能的科学和工程研究人员的管道，以应对21世纪世纪的重大挑战，同时推进基础研究，以支持应用，如航空航天和汽车行业的可回收复合材料，按需可降解聚合物包装，可再生原料的聚合物用于药物输送，聚合物太阳能电池和柔性印刷电子产品。大多数参与者在完成暑期课程后攻读科学和工程学研究生学位，并最终在工业，国家实验室或学术界从事研究和开发。技术规格：REU的研究目标是开发可持续的材料开发方法，以满足关键的社会需求，同时提高能源和原材料的利用率。本科生研究人员从事基础材料研究工作，涵盖材料可持续性的复杂，跨学科方面，包括材料的可回收性和降解性设计，从可再生原料合成聚合物，提高工艺效率，以及设计可再生能源应用的聚合物，同时获得评估新材料开发对环境影响的工具。该研究分为三个主题：（1）可回收性和可降解性设计（2）可持续聚合物：（生物）可再生原料和资源高效加工（3）可持续能源材料。学生在最先进的研究设施中接受培训，包括最近获得的X射线光电子能谱（XPS），小角X射线散射（SAXS）-广角X射线散射（WAXS）和先进的成像仪器，并通过与聚合物计算，合成，分析，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Hands-on Laboratory Experiments for Demonstrating Mixed Plastic Recycling

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00702
• 发表时间: 2022-11
• 期刊: Journal of Chemical Education
• 影响因子: 3
• 作者: Mikaela Sadri;Paul Smith;Samaria Spears;Jonathan Perkins;Carl Dewitt;Shane Savannah;Cameron Butler;Zhe Qiang