RET Site for Polymer Engineering Research and Workforce Development
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| Abstract | ABSTRACT: The IREE: Research Exchange in Nanoengineered Polymeric Materials supplement supported two doctoral students in polymer engineering at The School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at The University of Southern Mississippi to complete three-month collaborative research programs in residence at The Centre for Polymer Science and Engineering at The Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, India. The two research projects involved rheological studies of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) polymer nanocomposites and the development of stimuli-responsive bioactive polymeric surfaces. The synergistic strengths of the two research institutions, including polymer synthesis and analysis expertise at Southern Miss and polymer processing and rheology capabilities at IIT Delhi, enhanced international collaboration and research progress. In addition to conducting collaborative research, students participated in cultural activities, attended international research conferences and visited international corporations with research centers in India. On returning from India, the graduate students participated in the RET Site for Polymer Engineering Research and Workforce Development summer research program, working with high school and community college teachers. The graduate students will visit teachers' classrooms during the fall semester to introduce high school students to their international research experience. |
| Contributor | Mourad Ouzzani
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| Bio | Paul Joseph Jones is a fourth year graduate student at The University of Southern Mississippi School of Polymers and High Performance Materials performing research under the direction of PI Morgan. He is the recipient of a Hearin Graduate Fellowship and in 2006 received an NSF Fellowship to attend the Nanomechanics and Nanomaterials Summer Workshop at Northwestern University. He is the author of three peer-reviewed journal publications and has presented results of his research at six national conferences, including the American Chemical Society and the Society of Plastics Engineers annual scientific meetings. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Mississippi, where he was named a NASA Space Grant Scholar. Kevin Rhudy is a fifth year graduate student performing research under the direction of co-PI Urban. His current research is in the area of stimuli-responsive colloidal dispersions. He has a publication in Langmuir, and has presented results of his research at national meetings including the American Chemical Society and the Waterborne Symposium. He holds a B.S. in Polymer Science from The University of Southern Mississippi, where he received Polymer Science departmental awards. Veena Choudhary, Professor, Centre for Polymer Science and Engineering, IIT Delhi, is the author of over 200 publications in scientific journals, has served as advisor for fifteen Ph.D. and fifty M.Tech graduates, serves as the Vice President for The Society of Polymer Science in India, and holds numerous research awards, including Humboldt Fellow, RWTH, Aachen, Germany. She obtained a Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India (1977), M.Sc. Organic Chemistry, Punjab University, Chandigarh, 1973 Rank: First position in University and B.Sc.Chemistry, G.N.University, Amritsar, 1971. Her current research interests include synthesis and characterization of high performance polymers, development of thermoset and thermoplastic polymeric nanocomposites, smart /nano hydrogels: preparation, characterization and its evaluation in biomedical field, and materials for fuel cell membranes. Sarah E. Morgan, Associate Professor, School of Polymers and High Performance Materials, University of Southern Mississippi. She joined the Univ. in 2002, after a fourteen year career in industrial R&D in engineering thermoplastics. At GE Plastics she held R&D and management roles at GE locations around the world. Most recently she was Global Technology Manager for NORYL™ Resins and Global Sourcing Quality Leader at GEP headquarters. She holds a PhD from The University of Southern Mississippi (1988) and BA from Rice University (1980). Her current research interests are in the area of high performance materials, with specific focus on tribological, rheological and mechanical performance, including nanoengineered materials, high performance polymers, hybrid organic/inorganic nanocomposites, stimuli-responsive polymer surfaces and thin films. She serves as Education Director for the NSF MRSEC and Director for the RET Site for Polymer Engineering Research and Workforce Development. Marek W. Urban, Professor of Polymer Science, is the Director of NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) and National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/U CRC) in Coatings at The University of Southern Mississippi School of Polymers and High Performance Materials. He received an M.S., Chemistry, 1981, from Marquette University, WI; a Ph.D., Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 1984, Michigan Technological University, MI, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Department of Macromolecular Science, 1984-86, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. His research interests include Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Coatings; Surface/Interfacial Interactions in Organic Coatings and Film Formation; Stratification Processes in Polymeric Films; Film Formation in Organic Coatings; Nondestructive Characterization Methods; IR Imaging and Photoacoustics, Attenuated Total Reflectance, FT-IR Spectroscopy; Infrared and Raman Imaging; Molecular level Adhesion; Behavior of Small Molecules in Polymer Networks; Spectroscopy and Nonequilibrium. |
| Cite this work | Researchers should cite this work as follows: Sarah E. Morgan, Marek W. Urban, Veena Choudhary, Paul J. Jones and Kevin Rhudy, "RET Site for Polymer Engineering Research and Workforce Development", Trip report presented at the NSF IREE 2008 Grantees Conference, May 2008, Washington, D.C. |
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