Degree Track: Doctoral Student, Polymer Science and Engineering

Fatigue represents a serious engineering problem for using materials under cyclic loading conditions.  Manufacturer’s of parts made from polymers must take into account that strength properties of polymers can degrade under repetitive stress.  To date, a satisfactory understanding of the underlying cause of fatigue in thermoset polymers has not been achieved.  My research is to attempt to quantify preliminary molecular damage that leads to subsequent failure of thermoset polymers subjected to mechanical fatigue.

Joshua S. Hanna
Hometown: Booneville, MS
B.S., Chemistry, Millsaps College.
Doctoral student in Polymer Science at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Present research includes the most widely used anticorrosive coatings are two-component (2K) thermoset epoxy-amine systems. Despite their excellent performance characteristics, thermoset systems are not amenable to a broad range of precise characterization methods, i.e., measuring molecular weight versus environmental exposure. To access the molecular weight versus exposure limitations, model high molecular thermoplastic (HMWTP) epoxy-amine systems that perform similarly with standard systems and broaden the available characterization methods have been synthesized. The HMWTP model polymers will be varied in the DGEBA block length in order to vary the amount of bond strengths in the polymer backbone and correlate to degradation mechanisms. Using thermoplastic systems will eliminate the variable effects such as cure times, crosslinker ratio, side reactions with other formulation raw materials, heat of cure versus coating performance, and narrow the research to influence of substrates, additives, and raw stages. In our research, the degradation effects from ASTM B 1117, QUV and thermal weathering on the FTIR, T_g, and molecular weight on synthesized epoxy coatings has been investigated.

AWARDS:
NSF GK-12 Fellowship

David Krzeminski
Hometown: Grandville, MI
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University.
B.S., Biomedical Engineering ,Carnegie Mellon University.
Doctoral student in Sports & High Performance Materials at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Present research interests include protective sports equipment, specifically polymeric materials used in head protection. Areas of focus include the characterization of thermoplastic materials during a focal impact event and the material's impact attenuation performance. Studying the thermal response and strain behavior will serve to characterize attenuation mechanisms and potential material degradation. The focus is to develop a fundamental understanding of energy dissipation mechanisms in these thermoplastic materials, the thermal response during these dynamic impact events, and how these lead to the onset of degradation. The overall research aim is to accurately predict the transfer of energy through a helmet system and onto the head, with the ultimate goal of minimizing the occurrence of concussions.

AWARDS:
Noetic Technologies Invent Your Future Competition FInalist

Nadine Lippa
Hometown: Bergen, NY
B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University.
Doctoral student in Sports & High Performance Materials at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Present research is focused on running shoe materials and the associated biomechanics to decrease the incidence of overuse injuries.

Greg Curtzwiler
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Kevin Harmon
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Bob Peterson
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Christina Konecki
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Mark Early
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Yidan Guan
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