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Join us on September 22-25, 2025 at the Americas Regional Meeting of the Polymer Processing Society, PPS 2025, held at Guelph, ON, Canada. This conference will aid to foster exchange of innovations and developments in areas related to Polymer Engineering. Please visit us on the PPS 2025 website. PPS 2025 Promo Video: <video width="540" height="310" controls poster="?ft=img/pps_thumbnail.JPG"> <source src="https://pps2025.ca/sites/default/files/2024-05/pps2025_promo_draft3%282024.05.17%29%20%281080p%29.mp4" type="video/mp4"> </video>   ...

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Representatives of The Ministry of Colleges and Universities visited the Bioproduct Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC) on September 10, 2024. The representatives were given tours of the BDDC, Crop science building, 117 Reynolds Walk, and Ontario Dairy Research Centre. During the visit the Dr. Amar Mohanty and Dr. Manjusri Misra presented their progress in developing products using biomaterials to the representatives from The Ministry of Colleges and Universities.The main goal of the visit was for the representatives to meet the principle investigators, their team, and discuss future plans for research projects and facilities.   ...

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Prof. Misra was invited to the HIMALAYA CALLING' Global Summit on Challenges & Opportunities in the Himalayan Region Conference on September 9 - 11, 2024. This conference focused on addressing climate change, socio-economic disparities, and geopolitical issues that affect the Himalayan region and the world as a whole. Government officials, scientists, and United Nations officials from around the world attended the conference.Prof. Misra was an invited speaker and virtually presented on "Global Warming, Climate Change and Plastic Wastes".   ...

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BDDC members presented at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE). This conference was held at Novi, Michigan, USA from September 4-6, 2024. The theme for this years conference is "The Future of Transportation - Mobility and Beyond: Enabled by Composites". During this event, students and researchers in the field of polymers provided poster and oral presentations, highlighting the advancement of composites in the automotive and transportation industry for the development of future generation of electric vehicles, and worldwide sustainability initiatives.Poster Presentations:Philip McMorran - 1st Place Undergraduate Poster - "AI-Driven Sustainable Fused Deposition Modeling of Sustainable Composite for Automotive Applications: A Bayesian Optimization Approach".Sarah Simoes - 2nd Place Undergraduate Poster - "Effects of Repetitive Recycling on the Performance of Sustainable Biocarbon Polypropylene Composites".Cameron Marquez - 3rd Place Undergraduate Poster - "Effect of Blend Ratio and Compatibilizer on rPP/rLLDPE Sustainable Miscanthus Biocarbon Reinforced Composite".Andre Letona - Graduate Poster - "3-Dimensional Damage Characterization of Sustainable Composites Made from Recycled Ocean Plastics and Pyrolyzed Burlap for Automotive Applications".Oral Presentations: Arturo Rodriguez presented on - "Advanced Lightweight Sustainable Bio-Based Composites Based on Recycled Polyamides".Malik Hassan - PhD student - presented virtually on - "Advancements in Super-Toughened Biodegradable Polymer Materials for Automotive Applications".Kehinde Olonisakin - Post Doctorate fellow - presented virtually on - "Recycled Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyamide 6,6 Composites: Enhancing Sustainability and Performance in Automotive Applications".Congratulations to all our students who received their certificates after completing their speed presentations!​​​​​​​...

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Professor Manjusri Misra has been named as a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada, class of 2024. It is the country's most prestigious society of exceptional researchers, scholars and creatives who have made outstanding contributions and are leaders in their field.  Manjusri Misra, Professor School of Engineering, cross-appointed to Department of Plant AgricultureProfessor Misra is a global leader in sustainable materials who has achieved remarkable contributions to the advancement of biocomposites and biopolymers, reducing dependence on petroleum based polymers, thus decreasing landfill waste and green house gases. This year, Professor Misra along with new Fellows and Members of the RSC from the Academy of Social Sciences, Academies of Arts and Humanities, and the Academy of Sciences, will be celebrated and officially inducted this Fall in Vancouver on November 8, 2024. Read more at U of G News  News posted at The Royal Society Of Canada      ...

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Professor Misra and her team at BDDC has been conducting research surrounding the utilization of a plant-based oil, camelina oil, as a high-performance, renewable and eco-friendly alternative to petroleum derived coatings for paper packaging. This project was featured in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Guelph news.News Link: University of Guelph Newsss...

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On August 27, 2024, Prof Misra and Prof. Mohanty, invited a total of eleven BDDC students and researchers on a field trip to Vineland Research Centre, located at the Niagara Peninsula.Prof. Jay, a Tree Fruit Breeding and Biotechnology Professor from the University of Guelph-Vineland Campus, hosted the BDDC team and provided an overview of the peach breeding program, as well as a tour around the peach farm, where students and researchers had the opportunity to pick fresh peaches.      ...

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BDDC welcomed five Engineering undergraduate CO-OP students from the University of Guelph and provided an opportunity to work on research projects and gain hands-on and lab work experience. Congratulations to our CO-OP students for completing their CO-OP work term. Best wishes to all of you for your studies. Students are:  Cameron Marquez (School of Engineering, University of Guelph) Zavier Blackman (School of Engineering, University of Guelph) Sasha Paquette (School of Engineering, University of Guelph) Laura Daniela Hernandez-Ruiz (School of Engineering, University of Guelph) Philip McMorran (School of Engineering, University of Guelph)      ...

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Five BDDC Undergraduate students participated in the annual CEPS Undergraduate Student Poster Session, that took place at the University of Guelph on August 21, 2024. A total of 40 Undergraduate Students from the University of Guelph attended the event, and posters were judged by Graduate students.This year, BDDC's Undergraduate Summer CO-OP Student (2024), Philip McMorran, won first place for his poster titled, “AI-Driven Sustainable Fused Deposition Modeling of Sustainable Composite For Automotive Applications: A Bayesian Optimization Approach”.  Other BDDC Undergraduate students who created excellent posters for the event include: 1) Zavier Blackman presented on, "Basalt fiber reinforced engineering plastic Composites for electric vehicle parts application". 2) Laura Daniela Hernandez-Ruiz presented on, "Fused Deposition Modelling of Biodegradable Composites from Cellulosic Plastic and Microcrystalline Cellulose for Making Medical Devices". 3) Dhanush Loganathan presented on "Effect of Cellulose Acetate on performance improvement of Poly (Butylene Succinate): Evaluation of Thermal, Mechanical, and Rheological Properties". 4) Manushri Gunasekaran, presented on "Optimizing bioplastic polymer compositions: Performance of ternary biodegradable blend of bio-PBS, PBAT, and PHBV for single-use packaging".      ...

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The paper titled "Performance evaluation of biodegradable polymer PHBV and PBAT blends with adjustable melt flow behaviour, heat deflection temperature, and morphological transition", was published by the Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering (CJCE). This paper was featured in the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) August Issue. This featured journal paper is written by BDDC researchers, namely, Peter Zytner, Akhilesh Kumar Pal, Amar K Mohanty and Manjusri Misra. For more information: CIC News  Link to featured Journal Paper       ...

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