Polymer conference kicks off new NSF center

Professor Tim Osswald (top) with Assistant Professor Lih-Sheng "Tom" Turng (left) and Professor Jeff Giacomin in front of a polymer injection machine. (26K JPG)

Wisconsin's plastics industry plays a key role in the state's economy, and the College of Engineering's Polymer Engineering Center can help link technological advances with new products for the market, University of Wisconsin officials said at a recent two-day campus conference.

The conference was held in October to help formally kick off the College of Engineering's newest National Science Foundation center. The NSF recently designated the Department of Mechanical Engineering's Polymer Engineering Center an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). "This is a very timely event for Wisconsin," said University of Wisconsin System President Katharine Lyall. "This is an important industry for us to understand and help where we can with our research."

Lyall noted that a recent statewide economic summit sponsored in part by the UW System identified the plastics industry as one of the state's dozen most important industries for fostering economic growth in Wisconsin. The plastics industry generates $10 billion a year in economic activity in the state, Lyall said. "The collaboration between our laboratories and industry is clearly an emphasis of the University of Wisconsin's research efforts," she said.

Partners with the Polymer Engineering Center in the I/UCRC include Ohio State University, Florida State University, and Florida A&M University. The NSF program seeks to foster better partnerships between university researchers and industry, and more closely link technology transfer between researchers and industry.

Terry Millar, associate dean of physical sciences for the UW-Madison Graduate School, cited the polymer group's partnership with other universities and with the plastics industry as a prime example of the university's collaborative research efforts. He noted that a 50-year history of polymer research has helped make Wisconsin one of the leading states in the country for plastics and polymer-related industries. "It's clearly a thriving research interest on our campus," he said. "I think this is what universities in partnership with industry do best."