May 21st will be our annual UW student research meeting. Every year we host a meeting where UW seniors in Chemical Engineering have an opportunity to present the research they have done as undergraduates to the outside world. This year four students will each give a 15 minute presentation followed by brief questions. Come on out to meet some of the best and brightest ChemEs UW has to offer and see the work they've done so far. A list of the student presentations is at the bottom of this page.
The meeting will be held at Ivar's Salmon House at 6:00 PM.
Dinner will be served buffet style with Salmon, Chicken, and Prime Rib entrees available. The cost is $15 for students, $25 for members, and $30 for nonmembers.
Additionally we are still looking for mentors for our student mentoring program. Details can be found at our mentoring page, contact Janet Matsen for more information.
This year's student presentations are listed below:
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Aaron Johnson - Rheology Modifiers for Calcium Carbonate Dispersions
From the fillers that give body to ordinary paper to the antacids that relieve indigestion, calcium carbonate suspensions play an important role in our day-to-day lives. For application they must be pumped, sprayed, coated or extruded often at the highest densities possible. Because of this, the goal of my research has been to investigate rheology modifiers for high solids calcium carbonate dispersions. A particular class of modifiers has been found that allow extremely dense systems to flow as shear-thinning liquids.
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Ben Ponto - The Potential for Colored Electrophoretic Displays
Advancements in electrophoretic displays, such as the Kindle® reader, and new high-quality printing technologies have been made possible by the ability to control and understand particle charging in nonpolar media. While previous work in our laboratory has elucidated the charging mechanisms for mineral oxides and carbon black, my research has continued the investigation into Magenta and Cyan pigment particles. Characterization of the surface charging properties and mechanisms was conducted in nonpolar media utilizing different surfactants which can be used to control both the sign and magnitude of the particle charge.
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Zach Sayler - Pressure Sensitive Adhesives for Skin
Industry has developed a variety of pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) to retain cosmetics, topical medicines, sunblocks, etc., to human skin, all with varying success in standing up to subcutaneous excretions of sebum over time. My work provides a database for the retention of a model cosmetic under these conditions and seeks to develop a simple in vitro model to describe the behavior. This was accomplished using a titania-based dispersion applied atop a microporous polypropylene membrane, which mimicked the diffusive and surface properties of skin, and beneath which was a layer of artificial sebum. Lateral pressure was applied to the cosmetic layer using a water jet, and significant differences were found in the performance of several different PSAs in current use.
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Kevin Kronvall - The Visco-Elastic Properties of Styling Gels
Styling gels are used to control hair, and a delicate balance in their properties is required for them to be successful. They cannot be too weak, providing little resistance to air currents or gentle touching, or too stiff, producing what is called “helmut head.” Furthermore, most commercially available products contain up to 40% of volatile materials, whose loss adversely affects properties. My research suggests that the relevant properties may be characterized in terms of their visco-elastic rheology. Specifically, I have studied the Procter & Gamble product: SFE 839, a silicone elastomer, using oscillatory rheometry. A direct correlation between elastic (storage) modulus and the fractional weight loss upon air-drying has been obtained.