Faculty First Year Seminars 191POLY2 - Living in a Polymer World

Polymers are ubiquitous in the modern world. All plastics are composed of polymers, and their disposal and waste is a huge societal problem. At the same time, polymers support the environment and human health in critically important ways, such as in lithium ion batteries for renewable energy storage, improved food safety, and life-saving medical devices. The molecules that underpin life, DNA and proteins, are also polymers. This course examines emerging technologies to address problems associated with plastics, while increasing student awareness of the amazing applications of these versatile materials in energy, health, and high performance materials.

First-year (R1ST)