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.
