News 

Competitive Green Technologies (CGTech) company announced that they will provide a new $1-million, 10-year gift to the University of Guelph for an inaugural Distinguished Research Excellence Chair in Sustainable Materials. The Chair will be held by Dr. Amar Mohanty, Director of U of G’s Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC), which uses plant-based sustainable materials to create renewable, eco-friendly alternatives to petroleum-based products for automotive, consumer and various other industrial uses.  For more information, please visit the U of G news.      ...

Read More

Society of Plastics Engineer's (SPE) Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) event took place  on September 6-8, 2023 in Novi, MI, USA.  The conference theme was “Composites: The Key to Electric Vehicles - Auto & Air Mobility" and included three days of presentations and posters highlighting how the automotive and transportation industries are advancing with composited playing a key role in the development of electric vehicles and sustainability initiatives worldwide. Presenting authors included:Hugh MacFarlane : "Sustainable Lightweight Biocomposites from Engineering Plastic and Hemp-Hurd Pyrolyzed Biocarbon" (poster) - 2nd place poster  award in the undergraduate category.Zavier Blackman : Lightweight, High-Performance and Flame-Retardant Sustainable Composites from Nylon 6,6 and Basalt Fiber for Electric Vehicle Parts Uses (poster).Prof. Manjusri Mishra : Upcycling Waste Biomass and Ocean-Recycled Plastics through Fused Deposition Modeling (oral).Dr. Arturo Rodriguez : Green Composites from Hop Natural Fiber and Bioplastic (oral).Prof. Amar Mohanty was a panelist in the PANEL DISCUSSION: Sustainability and End of Vehicle Life. Panel Moderators: Christoph Kuhn (Volkswagen of America, Inc.), Sara Simon (Forward Engineering North America)Panelists: Eric Walker (Honda), Kari Bliss (PADNOS), David Wagger (ISRI), Mehdi Tajvidi (University of Maine), Amar Mohanty (University of Guelph), Dan Dowdall (INEOS)     ...

Read More

BDDC hosted a tour for six High School Chemistry teachers, on July 27, 2023. The event was part of the ChemEd 2023 Conference held at the University of Guelph. The tour was led by Milka Popov, Akhilesh Pal and Zack Jamha.Link: ChemEd 2023 ConferenceBDDC hosted a tour for six High School Chemistry teachers, on July 27, 2023. The event was part of the ChemEd 2023 Conference held at the University of Guelph. The tour was led by Milka Popov, Akhilesh Pal and Zack Jamha.Link: ChemEd 2023 Conference...

Read More

Undergraduate co-op students: Zavier Blackman, Hugh MacFarlane and Mikayla Astroff, presented excellent progress of their research projects at the BDDC group meeting and engaged in discussion with the researchers.Undergraduate co-op students: Zavier Blackman, Hugh MacFarlane and Mikayla Astroff, presented excellent progress of their research projects at the BDDC group meeting and engaged in discussion with the researchers....

Read More

A group of students in the ENGG*6130 Physical Properties of Biomaterials, S23 course visited Polycon Industries - a Magna facility in Guelph, Ontario. The visit was organized by Prof. Manjusri Misra and Prof. Amar Mohanty and hosted by Sinisa Andrasic, Managing Engineer at Magna.A group of students in the ENGG*6130 Physical Properties of Biomaterials, S23 course visited Polycon Industries - a Magna facility in Guelph, Ontario. The visit was organized by Prof. Manjusri Misra and Prof. Amar Mohanty and hosted by Sinisa Andrasic, Managing Engineer at Magna....

Read More

On Friday June 23, 2023 a delegation from Campus des Metiers et des Qualifications d'Excellence, France visited the BDDC. The delegation consisted of Estelle Garnier, PhD (Operational Director), Gisell Burgos, PAT (International Project Manager), Professor Nathalie Gaveau (Project Coordinator) and Rosalie Prat (International Corporate and Administration Volunteer, Ambassade de France au Canada). The presentation and the tour of the BDDC was led by Professor Manjusri Misra.   ...

Read More

On June 9, 2023, delegates from Creative Destruction Lab visited the BDDC. The group consisted of Natasha Spokes (Associate Director, Ventures), Kari Gordon (Director, Programming) and Heather Marshall (Site Lead). They were accompanied by John Cranfield (Associate Dean - External Relations) from the University of Guelph. Professor Manjusri Misra provided an overview of key BDDC research and led a tour of the facility......

Read More