Troy University’s Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences invited scientists from universities across the country to present their research at an Interdisciplinary Academic Symposium on Thursday, Sept. 26.

The Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences (CMMS) is the first building in the history of Troy University to be solely dedicated to research, specifically polymers and polymer recycling. 

“I’m pleased to welcome our guests to TROY’s new Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences,” said Dr. Zhiyong Wang, Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Physics. “We just dedicated this facility last Saturday, and we are excited to give other scholars in this field and similar fields the opportunity to share their research, see where our work connects and identify possible opportunities to collaborate.”

The symposium featured researchers from other Alabama universities, New York, Texas and Iowa, plus representatives from KW Plastics in Troy, the world’s largest plastics recycling facility and supplier of HDPE and PP recycled resins. 

“This place is a vision come true. This really is a testament to Troy University and how seriously they have taken on the challenge of applied science,” said Stephanie Baker, Director of Market Development at KW Plastics. “It’s going to be very exciting to see collaboration between Troy University students, staff and the KW team as we take on industry challenges.”

Allison Rucker graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from TROY in 2023 before being accepted into graduate school at Auburn University in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology.

“I had a great experience at TROY. Ever since my freshman year I’ve loved the biology department—everyone was really cohesive and wanted you to succeed,” she said. “They really helped me get to where I am today. Dr. Wang took me under his wing my junior year and I did research with him. I was very involved in research as a student, which I feel is very important for student involvement.”

She returned to TROY Thursday to present her research. Titled “Effects of prepubertal and concurrent exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals in the male gonad,” her research is centered around androgen biosynthesis.

“I am a product of TROY,” she said. “Being able to talk about the research I did here and the importance of research as an undergraduate helped me get into Auburn on my first try. A facility as good as this (CMMS) is going to provide so many for opportunities for undergraduate students. Not only is it dedicating more resources to research as a whole, it’s giving students the opportunity to hone their skills before they get into a professional setting.”

Additional presenters included:

• Dr. Selvum Brian Pillay, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham; “Applications for recycled thermoplastic composites”
• Dr. Ali Abbaspourrad, Department of Food Science, Cornell University; “Microfluidics-based high-throughput bioassays and soft materials for selective adsorption”
• Dr. Shengua Wi, Department of Civil, Coastal and Environmental Engineering, University of South Alabama; “Interdisciplinary collaboration for materials sustainability, resilience, and environmental stewardship in the Gulf Coast Region”
• Dr. Milad Rabbani Esfahani, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Alabama; “Development of adsorptive membranes for selective water treatment”
• Dr. Derrick Dean, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Alabama State University; “Sustainable composites: processing, properties and applications”
• Dr. Qi An, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University; “Low-temperature catalytic depolymerization of LLDPE into valuable compounds using H-ZSM-5 catalysts in aqueous media”
• Dr. Ben Karimi, Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; “Optimized heparin adsorption using modified resins: a comprehensive study”
• Dr. Igor Fedin, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alabama; “Synthesis of colloidal II-V semiconductors QDs emitting in the short-wave infrared”
• Dr. Yucheng Peng, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University; “Identification of percolation threshold of spray-dried cellulose nanocrystals in homopolymer polypropylene composites”
• Dr. Andrei Stanishevsky, Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham; “Recycling with nano- and micro-fibers”
• Dr. Mojtaba Enayatinook, CMMS, Troy University; “Closed-loop chemical recycling of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate”
• Dr. Yifen Wang, Department of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn University; “Emerging packaging technologies”
• Dr. Haibin Ning, Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham; “Recycled carbon fiber reinforced recycled plastic composites”

In addition to the lectures, guests were able to take a tour of the facility and enjoyed breakfast, lunch and a social hour before a reception dinner. 

The symposium was funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Troy University under agreement 70NANB19H139 and 70NANB20H1247.

About the Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences

Founded in 2018 with support from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, CMMS is a fully-integrated, multi-disciplinary research facility focusing on research into polymers and polymer recycling. Since 2018, the NIST has awarded CMMS three grants totaling $9.4 million to help fund lab equipment, research projects, research stipends and faculty. 

Located on the Academic Quad in between Adams Administration and Patterson, at the former site of McCartha Hall, construction began in late 2022. The two-story building features a medical polymer processing lab, thermal analysis lab, chromatography analytical lab, mechanical testing lab, three polymer processing labs, pilot plant lab, three faculty research labs, spectroscopy lab, polymer chemistry lab, thermal lab, microscopy lab and an open faculty research lab.