2022 Technical Division Student Poster Contest: FMD 2022 Technical Division Undergraduate Student Poster Contest
Program Organizers: TMS Administration
Monday 5:30 PM
February 28, 2022
Room: Exhibit Hall C
Location: Anaheim Convention Center
SPU-2: Small bugs for big problems: Enriching microbes to degrade plastics: Brianna Hoff1; Paycen Harroun1; Tanvi Govil1; David Salem1; Rajesh Sani1; 1South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
Plastics have revolutionized many industries, but their desirable properties also bring disposal challenges. Importantly, plastics are recalcitrant to biological degradation and have negative impacts on the ecosystems in which they accumulate. This research seeks to develop a methodology to depolymerize and convert plastic waste into a commodity. Currently, plastic-rich samples have been collected from the Rapid City Water Reclamation Facility and Rapid City Landfill and are being enriched to isolate microbes in purity and consortia with the ability to degrade various plastics. Additionally, degradation testing protocols are being refined, and once the microbes are isolated, metatranscriptomic analysis will begin in order to understand what genes are responsible for degradation and how they might be engineered to improve efficiency. In the future, we will create a ‘consortium’ of engineered microbes to valorize plastic waste, and model microbial isolates will be used to transform degradation products into valuable bioproducts and green chemicals.
SPU-3: Investigation of Nanoparticle Size Effects on the Dielectric Properties of Functionalized Barium Titanate: Evan Flitz1; Emma Cooper2; Eduardo De Anda2; Halie Kim2; Zoe Kedzierski2; Albert Dato2; Todd Monson3; 1Pomona College; 2Harvey Mudd College; 3Sandia National Laboratories
Barium Titanate (BTO) is a ferroelectric perovskite material that is widely studied and commonly used in state-of-the-art capacitors due to its high dielectric permittivity. This value is generally understood to be ~5000. However, it has been reported that BTO exhibits a sharp increase in dielectric constant to over 15000 at a particle size of 70 nm, which is intriguing yet highly contested. Here we present an investigation of the dielectric constant of BTO across six particle sizes between 50 nm and 500 nm. Surface-functionalized BTO nanoparticles were incorporated into an ABS polymer matrix at high volume loadings with low agglomeration, and subsequently injection molded. The dielectric constant of BTO was extracted from the matrix by fabricating the composites into dielectric parallel plate capacitors. These results may prove valuable towards the development of improved systems of energy storage and power conditioning to meet the rising demands of society.
SPU-4: Medical Applications of Polymer Coated Cannulas: Catalina Lizarazo1; Christopher Batich1; Malisa Sarntinoranont1; Nagarajan Rajagopal1; Katherine Ryland1; Kenna Hildenbrand1; 1University of Florida
This project investigates the possibility of polymer coated cannulas being used during lymphedema treatments. Previously used to minimize backflow for drug delivery and cell migration in biopsy applications, polymer coated cannulas have the potential to serve as a less invasive alternative to treating lymphedema. The objective is to create a coating that will swell and remain in place when inserted in the lymph node area. The tube that is left behind must be biocompatible so that surrounding cells will grow and attach to perform as a pseudo vessel and help maintain lymphatic flow and potentially facilitate vessel re-growth. Testing is being done on current coatings using a texture analyzer to observe the release behavior upon cannula removal. Additionally, coatings will be tested for biocompatibility through cell culture assays.
SPU-5: Thermomechanical Clamp for Curing Low-κ Dielectric Dry Films: Ethan Shackelford1; Pragna Bhaskar1; Mohanalingam Kathaperumal1; Madhavan Swaminathan1; 1Packaging Research Center
Dry film technology is commonly used for deposition of dielectrics, photoresists, passivation layers, and other polymer films. These dry films are often deposited onto the substrate in two steps, lamination and curing, both requiring varying temperatures, atmospheres, and pressures to achieve adhesion. While vacuum laminators and controlled atmosphere ovens are commercially available for curing under pressure, there are few lab-scale solutions. A new design is proposed to allow for curing these dry films at high temperatures and pressures.A mechanical clamp is designed to cure a low-κ polymer dielectric dry film to improve adhesion to the substrate. The device utilizes different coefficients of thermal expansion and moduli of materials to apply increasing pressure at increased temperatures. Varying thicknesses of material components and pretension of bolt members were modelled and simulated using SOLIDWORKS. The results discussing temperature and pressure distributions across the wafer will be compared for different parameters.