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Newsletter issue: November, 2013 |
| DPI related news |
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New Scientific Director in 2014
As of 1 January 2014, Professor Sybrand van der Zwaag will take up the role of Scientific Director of DPI. He will succeed Martien Cohen Stuart, who will step down as Scientific Director having reached retirement age. In his capacity as Scientific Director, Sybrand Van der Zwaag will be responsible for DPI’s scientific quality and reputation.
Sybrand van der Zwaag (1955) holds an MSc degree in metallurgy from the Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) and a PhD in applied physics from Cambridge University (UK) for his research on supersonic impact on ceramics. After a post-doc position related to metallic glasses he joined Akzo Nobel Corporate Research in 1982 to work on the structure-property relationships for aramid and other high performance polymeric fibres. In 1987 he joined Akzo Fibre research to work on process innovations for aramid fibres. In 1992 he was appointed Professor of Microstructural Control in Metals at the Delft University of Technology, where he investigated fundamental aspects of solid state phase transformations in steel and aluminium for a more solid scientific basis to industrial process models. In 2003 he took up the Chair in Novel Aerospace Materials at the same university, working on the design of new materials for future aircraft and spacecraft. The NovAM research portfolio covers advanced polymers, self-healing materials, new metallic systems and polymer based sensorial composites.
Professor van der Zwaag is a member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities and a fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3). He is the scientific director of the Delft Centre for Materials, chairman of the national IOP research program on self-healing materials in the Netherlands and co-director of the German program in this field. He has published almost 400 journal publications and has supervised 38 PhD students.
In 2012 he was awarded the honorary title of 'Distinguished Professor” by the Board of the Delft University of Technology in recognition of his contribution to the interaction between academic research and industry in the field of materials in general and that of self-healing materials in particular. He remains deeply interested in the challenge of combining academic science with industrial needs and vice versa.
DPI enters into partnership with the No. 1 university of China
Tsinghua University (Beijing), which is the No. 1 university of China, has become a partner in DPI’s Bio-Inspired Polymers programme as of 1 Augustus 2013. The research within the collaboration will focus on a novel approach to the biological synthesis of high-value functional polymers.
Researchers of Tsinghua University and DPI-partner Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) will work together to develop a new class of high-value functional biopolymers. The project focuses on the synthesis of new polymers with multi-functional properties, establishing their structure-property relationship and scaling up the production process. Tsinghua University will focus on the synthesis of these biopolymers and TU/e will evaluate the material properties. In total, twelve scientists will be involved in the research.
Annual Meeting 2013
This year’s Annual Meeting was held as a part of a three-day event that took place at the Papendal conference centre in Arnhem (Netherlands) on 4-6 November. In a departure from the set-up of previous years, it was decided to offer a combined programme including the Annual Meeting, the Technology Area review meetings, the Programme Committee meetings, the meeting of the Council of Participants as well as the DPI Value Centre’s Polymer Innovation Day.
The Young DPI meeting, held on the first day, was attended by as many as 45 researchers, all of whom started working on a project in the past academic year. This session was a lively music-led interactive session led by the Dutch group More Balls Than Most in which participants had the opportunity to get to know one another in a “fun and learning” setting. The Young DPI members thoroughly enjoyed this event.
The afternoon of Tuesday 5 November was devoted to the Annual Meeting, which was attended by some 240 people. Chaired by Martien Cohen Stuart, the meeting featured lectures by renowned guest speakers Prof. Ludwik Leibler of the ESPI ParisTech and Prof. Han Meijer of Eindhoven University of Technology. Also during this meeting, Prof. Sybrand van der Zwaag, who will succeed Martien Cohen Stuart as DPI Scientific Director as of 1 January 2014, introduced himself to the DPI community. Jacques Joosten, Managing Director of DPI, gave a presentation highlighting DPI’s progress and also touching on the challenges ahead. At the close of the Annual Meeting, the winner of the Golden Thesis Award was announced (see separate news item below).
In the evening the conference dinner was held, a convivial gathering of some 280 people who not only enjoyed the good food but also seized the opportunity for networking. During the dinner, the names of the winners of the Poster Award were announced. 1st prize: Laurens Polgar; 2nd prize: Karel Wilsens; and 3rd prize: Qingbao Guan.
The programme for the third day, Wednesday 6 November, included a continuation of the Technology Area review meetings in the morning, while simultaneously the Polymer Innovation Day was held, with an extensive programme of presentations and discussions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This included a keynote lecture by Prof. Jan Diemert of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology. The Polymer Innovation Day, held under the auspices of DPI Value Centre and attracting over 300 people, centred around the theme “How Can Polymers Work for You?” and was intended to promote collaboration among SMEs, start-ups and multinationals in innovation in the field of polymers.
The new format of a combined three-day programme was considered to be a great success by the participants.
A more detailed report on the event will be published on the DPI Internet website soon.
Click here to see a short video of the Annual Meeting.
Golden Thesis Award 2013
The DPI Golden Thesis Award 2013 has been granted to Nicole Franssen for her thesis entitled “Functional (Co)polymers from Carbenes – Scope, Mechanism and Polymer Properties”. Nicole, who did her PhD work at the University of Amsterdam under the supervision of Prof. Bas de Bruin, currently works at Shell Global Solutions in the Netherlands. The jury unanimously selected Nicole Franssen as the winner from among the three candidates nominated for the award, all whom had impressed the jury with the excellent quality of their work. The other two candidates were: Jeroen Cottaar (“Modeling of charge-transport processes for predictive simulation of OLEDs”, Eindhoven University of Technology) and Danquing Liu (“Responsive Surface Topographies”, Eindhoven University of Technology). The award was presented during the DPI Annual Meeting 2013 in Arnhem on 5 November.
JENA en DPI
DPI is collaborating with the Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM) of the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena in Germany on two workshops on high-throughput experimentation.
The first workshop was held in Jena on 14-15 October 2013 and focused on the theme of “High-throughput and combinatorial experimentation in polymer science”, covering topics such as organics/polymers for energy applications (organic solar cells, OLEDs, organic batteries), libraries, characterization platforms, formulations and coatings. The workshop brought together some 110 participants from over twenty major companies and an equal number of universities from across the world. In 21 lectures on a wide variety of topics, scientists highlighted the opportunities offered by high-throughput experimentation.
The second workshop, also to be held in Jena, is scheduled to take place on 9 December 2013. Its theme will be “Synthesis, formulation and sequencing of polymers for life science applications” and topics addressed will include pharmapolymers and polymers for gene delivery applications including water soluble polymers, gels, melt extrusion solubility enhancement via glass matrices & smart release, antimicrobial coatings, new toxicity screening assays, mass spectrometry sequencing, and imaging approaches.
Theses
Polyolefins
Olefin block copolymers: synthesis and dissection, Camille Descour
Performance Polymers
Influence of processing induced morphology on mechanical poperties of shot aramid fibre filled elastomer composites, Christian Hintze
Functional Polymer Systems
Organic electronics by self-assembly, Andreas Ringk
Optically and environmentally responsive fibres, Mian Dai
Bio-Inspired Polymers
Molecular assembly, interfacial rheology and foaming properties of oligofructose fatty acid esters, Silvia van Kempen
Corporate Research
Fiber spinning under filament pull-out conditions, Carina van der Walt
New researchers
The following researchers have recently started a DPI project:
Polyolefins
Merijn Blaakmeer
Eric Cuthbert
Gitta Marx
Miguel Plata
Sampat Sing Bhati
Joice Klitzke
Performance Polymers
Emanuele Parodi
Yi Nan
Functional Polymer Systems
Qiang Wang
Max Port
Miguel Garcia Iglesias
Dirk-Jan Mulder
Ling Liu
Coatings Technology
Shuang Ma
Peter Albers
Bio-Inspired Polymers
Frank Aangenendt
Ma Yiming
Geert Noordzij
Monica Zakhari
Large-Area Thin-Film Electronics
Marie-Jean Thoraval
Agenda
14 November: Biobased Materials, what's next?
9 December: Workshop HTE
For more information about these events and other external events, please see our website: www.polymers.nl
For the internal meetings please see the DPI intranet.
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| General polymer news |
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BMW’s electric car features recycled plastic
BMW has launched the series version of its BMW i3 electric car. The lightweight vehicle, which features recycled plastics in its interior design, was simultaneously unveiled in New York, London and Beijing.
The vehicle’s passenger compartment is constructed of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) over an aluminium chassis. In the course of its development the company devised what it claimed was “the first recycling concept of its kind worldwide for CFRP components, body parts and sorted production waste that was suitable for series production”.
Around 25% of the plastic used in the interior comes from recycled material or renewable resources, added BMW.
Click here to read more.
Global medical polymer market to hit $3.5bn in 2018
The value of the global medical polymer market is set to rise by more than half in the next five years, boosted by an ageing population and developing markets. A new report from US research group NanoMarkets estimates that the market will grow from $2.3bn (£1.45bn) to more than $3.5bn (£2.2bn), a rise of more than 52%, between now and 2018.
According to NanoMarkets implants currently consume around half of the world’s medical polymer production and are expected to account for $1.6bn (£1bn) in polymer sales by 2018.
Lower in cost and lighter than metallic alternatives such as titanium, medical polymers are proving popular among device manufacturers and the medical profession alike. Meanwhile sales of polymers destined for diagnostic systems will likely reach around $1.04bn (£0.7bn) in 2018.
In vitro diagnostics account for between 50,000 and 60,000 metric tonnes of specialised and commodity plastics annually, NanoMarkets said. Leading medical polymers include PMMA, PS/styrenics and polypropylene, while the market is seeing the increased use of more ‘comfortable’ material, such as elastomers, to provide a ‘soft touch’ feel to products.
More products, perhaps even entire prostheses, will increasingly be made from biodegradable polymers, NanoMarkets added.
Click here to read more.
PlastiComp partners with DSM to develop bio-based thermoplastic composites
PlastiComp, Inc., based in Winona, Minnesota, USA, has signed a partnership agreement with Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, to develop bio-based and sustainable Long Fiber Thermoplastic (LFT) composite materials for the automotive and other performance-driven markets.
The two partner companies will collaborate with potential customers to design injection-molded composite parts. They will employ computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools to ensure optimized fiber architecture to meet stringent requirements for dimensional tolerances, surface finish and high-temperature properties.
While the principal focus of the partnership is on automotive applications, composites that DSM and PlastiComp are developing are also attractive in other metal-replacement applications. Grades can, for example, leverage material characteristics such as electro-magnetic interference (EMI) shielding for electronics, and radiolucency in X-Ray applications, thereby enhancing the value of light-weight, high performance, metal substitutions.
Click here to read more.
New mobile app detects plastic in consumer care products
A new application for smart phones offering consumers information about the presence of plastic microbeads in personal care products will be launched today (4 October).
The application ‘Beat the Microbead’ is a cooperation between 30 NGOs. It is free and available in English, Dutch, French, Spanish and German and aims to make eco-minded consumers more aware of their purchasing behaviour.
This application scans the barcode of a personal care product and tells the consumer whether or not the product contains plastic microbeads through a traffic light colour code.
Click here to read more.
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DPI Value Centre: Innovation in polymers
In 2007 DPI started the DPI Value Centre. The DPI Value Centre is an independent foundation supporting companies with their innovations in the field of polymers. With the support of our network of partners in the manufacturing industry and the research community (multinationals, SMEs and knowledge institutes), we can work in finding solutions to topics. Our experts can provide advice on polymers, but also on a wide range of other disciplines, from product and process development to marketing, patents, finance and grants. Thanks to our close ties with DPI we are constantly aware of opportunities in the polymer sector.
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Dutch Polymer Institute
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