MME Seminar: Advanced Green Composites
About the event
Presented by Dr. Anil N. Netravali, Jean and Douglas McLean Professor of Fiber Science, Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design, Cornell University
Light weight fiber reinforced composites have replaced metals in many applications from automobile parts to satellites and from windmill blades to sporting goods. Most of these composites are made using fibers and resins that are derived from petroleum. Since they tend to be non-degradable, non-recyclable and non-reusable, most of them end up in landfills at the end of their life. Green composites made from plant-based fibers and resins on the other hand are fully sustainable and compostable. Since the beginning of the research on green composites that started only 25-30 years ago, a significant progress has been made. Natural fiber reinforced green composites now can be found in many applications from automobile parts to housing and from furniture to packaging. Advanced Green Composites with high strength and toughness comparable to Kevlar® based composites can now be made using cellulosic fibers. This presentation will discuss the research progress in the field of green composites including self-healing and fire resistant green composites.
Biography: Dr. Netravali received his Ph.D. in Fiber & Polymer Science from North Carolina State University in 1984 and joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University as a postdoctoral associate. In 1987 he joined the Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design as an assistant professor. Currently he is the Jean and Douglas McLean Professor of Fiber Science. His main research is in the fields of Fiber Reinforced Composites, Green Materials and Green Processes. Within the area of green materials his group has developed Green resins from plant-based proteins and starches and reinforced them using plant-based fibers to fabricate environment-friendly, Green Composites and Advanced Green Composites for a variety of applications.
Dr. Netravali is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Fiber Society and the American Nano Society. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, AL. He is the Editor of Reviews of Adhesion and Adhesives (RAA) and serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of 6 international research journals. He has over 170 research publications and book chapters and has edited or co-edited four books. He has presented his research at numerous conferences as Keynote and Plenary speaker. He was the winner of the ‘Green of the Crop’ in the Inventor & Entrepreneur category in New York in 2010 and received the 2012 Founder’s Award by the Fiber Society in recognition of his outstanding achievement and commitment to the science, engineering and technology of fibers and fiber-based products.
https://mme.wsu.edu/seminar-series/