UGA researchers to conduct 7 projects for CB2 in 2024
Researchers from the University of Georgia New Materials Institute were recently selected to lead or co-lead seven projects for the Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, or CB2, during the group’s fall meeting held in North Dakota. The projects will be conducted in 2024.
Five of the projects selected by the IAB were new projects and two existing projects from 2023 were continued for the coming year. The projects chosen were among more than a dozen pitched by IAB members earlier in 2023, to help their companies accomplish shared goals in sustainability research.
The biannual IAB meeting was held at North Dakota State University, in Fargo, which serves as one of CB2’s four research sites. The meeting included on-site attendees as well as virtual attendees.
Project topics for 2024 range from explorations into disintegration behavior of certain polymers, sustainable textile development, emerging roles for bioplastics, bio-based blends, waste valorization, exploring barrier mechanisms, and the development of new bio-based and biodegradable polymers for plastics manufacturing.
About CB2
CB2 is an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center and is funded, in part, through the National Science Foundation. Representatives from CB2’s industry partners comprise an Industry Advisory Board that meets twice a year to review progress on current projects and, to pitch and assess new proposals. IAB members share in the research and development costs, as well as in the intellectual property; additionally, IAB representatives work directly with university faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students to develop technologies that can be rapidly adopted by industry. The program provides hands-on training while ensuring funds and projects are focused on rapid development of tools needed by industry to further sustainability goals. Students and university researchers work under the mentorship of industry scientists and product developers from some of the biggest names in industry: Amazon, John Deere, ADM, Kimberly-Clark, 3M, BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sherwin-Williams, AkzoNobel, Danimer Scientific, NatureWorks, Hyundai, MARS, and Green Dot Bioplastics, among others. Projects are funded through IAB membership fees, with Center/Site support funding provided by the NSF. CB2’s four search sites are located at North Dakota State University, Iowa State University, Washington State University, and the University of Georgia.
For more information about CB2, visit https://cb2center.org/home.