All tracks begin with intensive summer course work in the area of study. To complete the master's degree, students in this track will also need to complete 30 internship credits and an additional 8 credits of course work. An overview of credits and requirements can be found on the Overview page of this website.
The focus of the MSI Polymers and Coatings program is to introduce the fundamental concepts, processes, preparation and physical characterization of polymers, with emphasis placed on those of commercial interest. Approximately 70% of all chemists work in the polymer industry, so having a background in polymers can be highly advantageous in today's competitive job market.
Past students in our program have worked on a myriad of projects within their companies including drug delivery polymers, anti-radiation coatings for NASA, flexible LCD display panels, UV cure coatings, polyurethane patching compounds and many others.
Summer Course Outline
The summer Polymer and Coatings program contains four intensive courses (16 credits) starting in late June and finishing in early September.
Synthesis, Characterization & Processing of Polymers
This course covers methods of polymer synthesis and characterization; kinetics and mechanisms of the principal polymerization reactions. Introduction to mechanical properties and fabrication techniques. Overview of the methods of structural characterization for important morphological classes of polymers. Techniques for predicting the engineering and physical properties of polymers from their molecular structures.
Polymer Synthesis Characterization Lab
The laboratory section of the polymer courses focuses on hands-on synthesis, manipulation, formulation and characterization of polymers. The students spend the first half of the lab course making polymers for learning the characterization tools available at UO and CAMCOR. In the second half of the course, the students use these skills to make polymers with varying physical properties by exploring the effects of plasticizers, additives and dyes on polymer properties. The students also develop a characterization strategy to prove their polymers meet pre-assigned specifications.
Polymers & Coatings Physical Chemistry
This course focuses on polymer engineering and polymer physics with an emphasis on practical applications and recent developments. Topics include polymer synthesis, characterization, mechanical properties, rheology, and processing.
Polymer Processing
In the processing class students will be introduced to the major plastic molding processes. These include extrusion, injection molding, thermoforming, mixing and others. There will be discussion of the internal workings of current process equipment in detail, and the necessary properties that polymers must exhibit for each process. Each student will give a one hour, in-depth presentation on a plastic processing technique for the final.
The courses and labs have been designed to not only teach the fundamentals, but also to introduce and instill soft skills such as teamwork, problem solving and communicating (orally and in writing) that are so critical to succeed in any industrial environment.
Faculty
David R. Tyler, UO Department of Chemistry: B.S., Purdue University, 1975. Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 1979 (Harry Gray). At Oregon since 1985.
Darren W. Johnson, UO Department of Chemistry, B.S., University of Texas, Austin, 1996. Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2000 (Kenneth N. Raymond). Postdoctoral: The Scripps Research Institute, 2001-03 (Julius Rebek, Jr.). At Oregon since 2003.
Willie E. "Skip" Rochefort, Oregon State University, School of Chemical Biological & Environmental Engineering: B.S. University of Massachusetts, 1976. M.S., Northwestern University, 1978. Ph.D., University of California at San Diego, 1986. At OSU since 1993.
Richard Chartoff, University of Dayton, Chemical and Engineering Materials.
Photo of Mt. Hood by Zack Mensinger
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