Polymer Materials
Polymer Materials is a core subject area for a PhD student researching any aspect of polymer science and technology, including at the micro- and nano- scale. This assignment-based module introduces students to polymer materials and focuses on structure/property relationships. It also deals with more specialized advanced polymer systems. The practical element will teach the students to synthesize and characterize a range of polymers using various analytical tools.
General information:
- Polymer Materials module is available in second semester 2011/2012 academic year, from January 16th, 2012 to March 26th, 2012
- Host Institution: Athlone Institute of Technology, Polymer Engineering Department
- Delivery mode:
- for Athlone located students: on-site in AIT, 1 hour lectures per week, 6 hours laboratory
- for students from other locations: Mixed mode via remote delivery: online lectures every Modnay from 12.00 to 13.00 plus 2-day on-site laboratory activities in AIT (date & time of the lab workshop to be set up on first online meeting with students)
Course content:
- Introduction to polymer materials,
- Review of polymerisation methods,
- Molecular weight determination,
- Property modification and the use of additives,
- Developments in commodity polymers,
- Composites,
- Speciality polymers,
- Specialised applications,
- Diffusion control, Environmental aspects of polymers,
- New trends and developments in speciality polymers,
- Nanomaterials.
Polymer Materials - Module Descriptor
Lecturer: Dr. Clement L. Higginbotham
Director of Materials Research Institute,
Athlone Institute of Technology
Dr Clement Higginbotham has been an active researcher in the fields of controlled drug delivery, bio nanotechnology, tissue engineering and biomedical materials for the past eleven years and has in excess of 130 publications in peer reviewed journals and conference presentations in these fields. He is also an inventor on a patent on lubricious hydrophilic coatings for medical devices. He is currently Director of the Centre for Nanotechnology and Materials Research at Athlone Institute of Technology which currently boasts in excess of 30 researchers, carrying out research on polymer-based formulations and compounds used in invasive and non-invasive medical devices. Dr. Higginbotham has been awarded in excess of €4.1M in research funding and has graduated 27 PhD students and 2 MSc students. He is currently supervising 5 postdoctoral researchers, 4 PhD students and 6 MSc students.
List of Journal Publications & Patents
ICGEE is funded by:
