NDSU faculty are co-organizing the First International Symposium on Materials from Renewables scheduled for July 19-20 on the NDSU campus. The event is co-organized by faculty at the University of Georgia.
The event is sponsored by the North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, known as ND EPSCoR; North Dakota Soybean Council; United Soybean Board; NDSU Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials; NDSU College of Science and Mathematics; and NDSU College of Engineering.
The symposium will explore aspects of research related to the use of renewable, natural materials, including applications in all fields of science and engineering. A special focus of this year’s conference will be renewable polymer synthesis and nanomaterials or nanocomposites from renewable resources.
The symposium is an important platform to discuss bio-based materials, a growing area of development as researchers and industries seek alternatives to petroleum-based products.
NDSU members of the organizing committee include Andriy Voronov, associate professor of coatings and polymeric materials; Dean Webster, professor and chair of coatings and polymeric materials; and Mukund Sibi, University Distinguished Professor of chemistry and biochemisty and James A Meier Professor. Organizing committee members at the University of Georgia include Jason Locklin, Sergiy Minko and Suraj Sharma.
“The use of natural ingredients has become one of the major current trends in making new advanced materials for the global market,” Voronov said. “The symposium will focus on recent research efforts devoted to making materials from renewable resources, such as natural polymers, biomass, and plant and vegetable oils, as well as on challenges related to their further characterization, processing and application.”
A distinguished group of speakers will address research, processing and application for making materials from renewable resources, such as natural polymers and plant or vegetable oils. The conference provides opportunities for students to hear from top scientists who are working on emerging research.
“We believe that, if successful, this inaugural symposium will help us in organizing a sustainable series of the conferences in the future,” Webster said. “Every other year it would be held on the NDSU campus, increasing NDSU’s exposure and impact in the growing field of sustainable materials.”
Scheduled speakers and their topics include:
• Alain Dufresne, University of Grenoble, France
“Polymer Nanocomposites Reinforced with Nanomaterials Extracted from Renewable Resources”
• You-Lo Hsieh, University of California-Davis
“Functional Hierarchical Hybrid Nanofibers via Self-Assembling and Electrospinning”
• Orlando Rojas, North Carolina State University/Aalto University, Finland
“Lignin and Nanocellulose in the formulation of emulsions, formulation-composition maps and material synthesis”
• Anil Netravali, Cornell University
“Green Materials and Processes: From Housing to Ballistic Applications and from Nanofilters to Hair Treatment”
• Jaime Grunlan, Texas A&M University
“Biopolymer-Based Multilayer Nanocoatings that Exhibit High Gas Barrier and Flame Retardant Behavior”
• Stephen Miller, University of Florida
“Next Generation Packaging Plastics: Renewability, Degradability, and Scalability”
• John La Scala, Army Research Laboratory
“Environmentally Friendly High Performance Bio-Based Polymers for DoD Applications”
• Alena Kubatova, University of North Dakota
“Lignin as the Source of Renewable Chemicals: Journey to Accurate Characterization of Feedstock and Reaction Products”
• Douglas Raynie, South Dakota State University
“Catalytic Hydrotreatment of Lignocellulose into Phenolic Monomers using Subcritical Water”
• Yiqi Yang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
“The Sustainable Growth of Textile Industry”
• Jeffrey Youngblood, Purdue University
“Nano-/Bio- is not an Either/Or Choice for Sustainable Materials”
Oral and poster presentations are set for the Memorial Union Century Theater and Great Plains room, while the conference dinner is scheduled for the Harry D. McGovern Alumni Center.
The symposium is intended to become an annual event, rotating between the NDSU and UGA campuses. The second symposium is planned for fall 2017 at UGA.
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