Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/29/2024
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location
Rhines 125
Categories
Abstract
Plastics provide innumerable benefits to society, with essential applications that span virtually every sector of the economy. However, these remarkable materials are accumulating in the environment at an alarming rate, leading to a seemingly intractable dilemma.
Two complementary strategies for addressing this problem will be discussed: (1) improving the physical properties of compostable poly(lactide) and (2) developing economically viable approaches to recycle polyolefins. This broad-based effort to create sustainable polymers relies on state-of-the-art synthetic chemistry combined with characterization of the structure and physical properties of these commodity materials strategically modified through blending with block copolymers.
Bio
Frank Bates, Ph.D.
Regents Professor
University of Minnesota
Dr. Frank Bates is a Regents Professor and a member of the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science department at the University of Minnesota. He received a B.S. in Mathematics from SUNY Albany and an M.S. and Sc.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT. Between 1982 and 1989, Bates was a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories, then joined the University of Minnesota, where he served as department Head from 1999 to 2014. He was named a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in 1988, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor in 1996, and a Regents Professor in 2007. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors.