Professor Rachel Segalman’s presentation, got plastic? from diapers to renewable energy, is at a great level for high school or lower division undergraduate students and their teachers. She starts with some engaging hands-on activities, which lead into an explanation of the basics of polymer science. From here, she explains the structure-function relationship of some polymers, gives examples of some very interesting current and future applications, then discusses some of her own research projects. Dr. Segalman is very understandable. As she introduces new ideas, she ties each in to their functions and implications, and makes clear analogies to help communicate complex ideas in an accessible way. Topics covered include polymers, the idea of tunability, conducting polymers, polymer LEDs, roll-to-roll manufacturing, polymers for renewable energy, how polymer solar-cells work, photolithography, self-assembly, phase separation by demixing, photovoltaics, block copolymer self-assembly (and the “plumber’s nightmare”), and nanopatterning. Demonstrations include: * Water absorbing polymer from baby diapers * silly putty * a dot dotted drink * hot dog and floating magnets self assembly * milk and Red Bull demixing (thought-provoking: Compare the the original and final volumes of the different layers.) In addition to learning about an exciting nanoscience research area, and some visions of its future applications, teachers will find ideas for simple and effective classroom demonstrations, supported by an explanation of the physics underlying the phenomena. It would have been nice to have a pdf download of the lecture slides available, and sometimes the video is not ideal as it goes between the speaker and the screen. Despite these minor issues, the presentation is very good and viewers will learn many things from it.
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Tanya Faltens @ on
5.0 out of 5 stars
Professor Rachel Segalman’s presentation, got plastic? from diapers to renewable energy, is at a great level for high school or lower division undergraduate students and their teachers. She starts with some engaging hands-on activities, which lead into an explanation of the basics of polymer science. From here, she explains the structure-function relationship of some polymers, gives examples of some very interesting current and future applications, then discusses some of her own research projects. Dr. Segalman is very understandable. As she introduces new ideas, she ties each in to their functions and implications, and makes clear analogies to help communicate complex ideas in an accessible way. Topics covered include polymers, the idea of tunability, conducting polymers, polymer LEDs, roll-to-roll manufacturing, polymers for renewable energy, how polymer solar-cells work, photolithography, self-assembly, phase separation by demixing, photovoltaics, block copolymer self-assembly (and the “plumber’s nightmare”), and nanopatterning. Demonstrations include: * Water absorbing polymer from baby diapers * silly putty * a dot dotted drink * hot dog and floating magnets self assembly * milk and Red Bull demixing (thought-provoking: Compare the the original and final volumes of the different layers.) In addition to learning about an exciting nanoscience research area, and some visions of its future applications, teachers will find ideas for simple and effective classroom demonstrations, supported by an explanation of the physics underlying the phenomena. It would have been nice to have a pdf download of the lecture slides available, and sometimes the video is not ideal as it goes between the speaker and the screen. Despite these minor issues, the presentation is very good and viewers will learn many things from it.
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