This talk will discuss efforts in the authors laboratory to provide research experiences for high school teachers that allow cutting edge research to translate to the high school classroom. This talk will demonstrate that the considerations of available materials and safety are an excellent engineering constraint to drive new approaches to the characterization and processing of polymeric materials. This will be demonstrated through our research on shape memory polymers and foams through swelling and blending and phase change actuators fabricated by blending widely-commercially available polymers (natural rubber, silicones, urethane foams, styrenic block copolymers) and crystalline molecules (fatty acids, paraffin waxes), where the initial process was inspired by the challenge of fabricating a shape memory polymer without using any volatile organic solvents or advanced processing equipment.

Polymer outreach and in-reach through research with high school teachers

2019 Spring National Meeting

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