Keynote Lecture
Professor Megan E. Fieser
University of Southern California
Abstract:
As we strive to support our busy and demanding lifestyles, our dependence on disposable plastics has led to a global environmental crisis. The Fieser group aims to address this crisis through the development of degradable plastic alternatives and the repurposing of accumulating plastic waste. While poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is the third-most mass produced polymer, it has the most harmful end-of-life to the environment. Regardless of if PVC items end up in a landfill or recycling stream, thermal and photochemical degradation cause harmful production of hydrochloric acid, dioxins and leaching of toxic additives. Efforts to use a range of catalytic methods to repurpose waste PVC into high value and/or benign products will be discussed.
Plenary Lecture
Dr. Nathan Silvernail
Global Technology Platform Director for Mobility, PPG
Abstract:
Coatings for Improved Electric Vehicle Battery Pack Safety
The Automotive Industry has relied on coatings to solve many decorative and functional challenges since before the advent of the moving assembly line. The evolution of electric vehicles, and their accompanying battery systems, brings a host of new challenges that require high-performance materials as solutions. Coatings play a vital role in pack-level assemblies to deliver safety and longevity while providing scalability to serve the growing volume demands of consumers. PPG, a leader in sustainable solutions, offers materials that help enable increased throughput, reduced material, and energy consumption, and are adaptable to engineering changes and developments. This talk will provide a discussion of coatings based solutions with a focus on battery pack safety.
#Karle2024
CONTACT
Malavika Ramkumar
mramkl@umich.edu
Nicholas Tomalia
natomali@umich.edu