SEMINAR: Polymer Nanocomposites Technology Designed for Extreme Environments

Abstract:

The introduction of inorganic nanomaterials as additives into polymers has resulted in polymer nanocomposites exhibiting a multiplicity of high-performance characteristics beyond what traditional polymeric composites possess. These “multifunctional” features attributable to polymer nanocomposites consist of improved properties, such as mechanical, thermal, flammability, ablation, electrical, optical, chemical, permeability, and others. Through control/alteration of the additives at the nanoscale level, one is able to maximize property enhancement of selected polymer systems to meet or exceed the requirements of current commercial, military, and aerospace applications. This seminar includes: an overview of different nanomaterials, processing techniques, and selective examples to examine the behavior of polymer nanocomposites designed for extreme environments, such as re-entry vehicles, solid rocket motors, and additive manufacturing.

Biography:

Dr. Joseph Koo has over 40 years of industrial and academic experience in program and engineering management. Currently, he is Senior Research Scientist/Research Professor/Director of Polymer Nanocomposites Technology Lab in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. Dr. Koo is the founder of KAI, LLC and currently serves as Vice President and CTO. He is a SAMPE Fellow and Chairman of the SAMPE Nanotechnology Committee. Dr. Koo is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and Past-Chair of the AIAA Materials Technical Committee. He has an excellent track record for developing well-funded research programs sponsored by DoD (AFOSR, AFRL, AMRDEC, DTRA, MDA, NAVAIR, NAVSEA, NSWC, and ONR), DoE, DoT, EPA, FAA, NASA, and private companies. His research group specializes in “Polymer Nanocomposites Technology Designed for Extreme Environments” for four major research areas:

• Ablation Research
• Flame Retardant Polymers
• Conductive Polymers
• Additive Manufacturing Polymers

Dr. Koo’s publications include two books, Polymer Nanocomposites: Processing, Characterization, and Applications, McGraw-Hill, New York (2006) and Fundamentals, Properties, and Applications of Polymer Nanocomposites, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (2016), and over 550 papers/presentations in materials, thermal and optical science disciplines. Two new books are forthcoming: Polymer Nanocomposites: Processing, Characterization, and Applications, 2nd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York (2019), and Ablation Science and Technology: Processing, Characterization, and Modeling, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (2019).