About the Seminar:

Sustainable polymers must be the future. A working definition of a sustainable plastic is one that is produced from renewable or recovered or waste feedstocks using energy efficient processes that minimize water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and other forms of pollution. Over its life cycle, a sustainable plastic generates negligible amounts of waste and can be practically recycled, reprocessed, or reclaimed after use. A full life cycle assessment of a new sustainable polymer technology is thus critical to make informed decisions about the potential integrated benefits for society. In early stages of sustainable polymer development, this is often not possible given the focus on the research needed to move a potential technology forward. However, there is a clear need to address at least four major questions when developing new sustainable polymers: where do the polymers come from, how are they made, how do they perform, and what are its end-of-use scenarios. Promoting a circular economy depends critically on the answers to all of these questions. In this presentation I will emphasize our work on aliphatic polyester block polymers for resilient elastomers and tough plastics with an emphasis on addressing these questions in a holistic manner. Solutions to the global plastics require such comprehensive investigations to practically realize the next generation of sustainable plastics.

About the Speaker:

Marc Hillmyer received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Florida in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1994. After completing a postdoctoral research position in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science he joined the Chemistry faculty at Minnesota in 1997. He is currently the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Chemistry and leads a research group focused on the synthesis and self-assembly of multifunctional polymers. In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Marc served as an associate editor for the ACS journal Macromolecules from 2008-2017 and is currently the editor-in-chief of Macromolecules. He is also the director of the Center for Sustainable Polymers headquartered at the University of Minnesota, a National Science Foundation Center for Chemical Innovation.