TRFA presents Excellence in Thermoset Polymer Research Award.
Press Release Summary:
TRFA presented it first annual Excellence in Thermoset Polymer Research Award to Krishna C. Etika for "Utilization of Clay-Carbon Nanoparticle Synergy for Enhancing Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Composites." Krishna is a Graduate Research Assistant in Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas. Purpose of award is to encourage and recognize advances in science and engineering of thermoset polymer industry.
Original Press Release:
TRFA Presents Excellence in Thermoset Polymer Research Award
Glen Ellyn, IL-The Thermoset Resin Formulators Association (TRFA) presented its first annual Excellence in Thermoset Polymer Research Award to Krishna C. Etika of Texas A & M University for "Utilization of Clay-Carbon Nanoparticle Synergy for Enhancing Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Composites." The official presentation was made during TRFA's recent 2010 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
Krishna is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas. He is currently working on an NSF sponsored research project with Professor Jaime C. Grunlan as his advisor. Krishna earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, India and his M.S. Materials Science and Engineering (Polymers) at IIT Kharagpur, India. He has worked as an Assistant Manager trainee at CEAT Ltd, Bhandup, Mumbai, India; as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University and has recently been appointed Instructor of Texas A & M sophomore level materials science core course for Fall 2010.
In addition to the award recipient, TRFA's Academic Panel named three Honorable Mention winners. They are:
1. Scott W. LeFevre, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, for "Patterning and Confocal Raman Study of Novel UV-Active Cyclolinear Polycarbosilane-based Functional Thermoset Materials."
2. Jeremy O. Swanson, The University of Southern Mississippi, Polymer Science and Engineering, for "Investigation of Network Development and Properties in Multifunctional Epoxy Resins Using 3,3'-DDS."
3. Devin G. Barrett, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Chemistry, for "One-Step Synthesis of Photocurable Polyesters Based on a Renewable Resource."
The purpose of the "Excellence in Thermoset Polymer Research Award" is to encourage and recognize advances in the science & engineering of thermoset polymer industry. Entries are submitted in the form of research papers, in the traditional scientific journal format. Eligible candidates are students who are candidates for BS, MS & PhDs at an accredited college/university in the USA and Canada whose research topics are related to Thermoset Polymer Science & Technology. All research paper submissions were due May 31st.
The award consists of a $500 cash award and an award plaque, an invitation to present the paper at the TRFA annual meeting with complimentary registration, one-night's accommodation for the winning student at the TRFA meeting's hotel/venue and an additional travel allowance of up to $500, and posting of the winning paper on TRFA's website.
All entries were reviewed by TRFA's Academic Panel and graded on a number of criteria including Overall Presentation, Contribution, Novelty, Purpose, Experiment, Conclusions and Impact. TRFA Academic Panel members are: Chris Andreola, Andreola Consulting, chair; Steve Hackett, 3M Corporation; Pritesh Patel, Air Products & Chemicals; Dilip Shah, Air Products & Chemicals; Valerie Walker, Crosslink Technology; Rajesh Turakhia, Dow Chemical Company; Vinay Mishra, ITW Devcon; and Kevin Wang, Zyvex Performance Materials.
In addition to the winning entry and honorable mention awards, the following technical papers were submitted for the competition:
o "Validation of Freeze-Thaw ASTM Standard Draft for Pultruded Fiber Reinforced Polymers (RFP)" by Stefan Strandlund, University of Mississippi.
o "Room Temperature Autonomic Healing of a Thermoset Using the Diels-Alder Reaction" by Amy M. Peterson, Drexel University.
o "Evaluation of Freeze/Thaw Testing Conditions for Pultruded Composites" by Michael Hougendabler, University of Mississippi.
o "The Particle Size Effect on Toughening Mechanisms in Epoxy Resins" by Peerapan Dittanet, Lehigh University.
o "An Evaluation of Freeze-Thaw Cycle Times on a Commercial Pultruded e-glass Polymeric Composite" by Tunji Adejumo, University of Mississippi.
o "On the Use of Triblock Copolymers to Toughen Epoxy Resin" by Lauren Nicole Bacigalupo, Lehigh University.
In addition to annual meetings, TRFA members benefit from industry-specific programming throughout the year, additional Internet visibility for member companies with links from the TRFA member list to member websites, quarterly newsletters, a Members-Only section on the TRFA website with access to a member address book, previous Technical Papers, a list of Testing Standards for TRFA, minutes and other TRFA-specific information, important and timely regulatory updates affecting material suppliers and formulators, and the opportunity to deepen established industry and professional relationships and develop new ones with industry participants who can provide information on issues of common concern.
TRFA is comprised of thermoset formulators, raw material suppliers, distributors, equipment manufacturers, manufacturer sales representatives of materials or equipment, importers of raw materials or processing or other equipment, consulting firms and academic institutions serving industries which include adhesives, coatings, civil engineering applications, electrical laminates, composites, tooling, castings and moldings. To learn more about TRFA, please visit the website at www.trfa.org or contact the association at (630) 942-6596.
