Polymeric Materials News

Engineering professors Xianming Shi and Jinwen Zhang have been honored as senior members of the National Academy of Inventors. The Academy recognizes senior members for their success in patents, licensing, […]

A single strand of fiber developed at Washington State University has the flexibility of cotton and the electric conductivity of a polymer, called polyaniline. The newly developed material showed good […]

Jinwen Zhang’s lab prepared a short video explaining how spent wind turbine blades can be recycled into new polymers rather than sent to landfills. This proposal was submitted to the […]

Congratulations to Ming-en Fei, who was awarded the Heh-Won Chang Ph.D. Fellowship in Green Chemistry! Ming-en presented his latest research findings at the 27th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference […]

Jinwen Zhang is one of nine WSU Scientist to receive a 2022 Commericalization Gap Fund. The Commercialization Gap Fund (CGF) provides funding to help WSU scientists bring their technology from […]

January 18, 2022 — Harvest a hazelnut, and you’re left with a shell. These hard, thin, slow-decaying husks are typically mulched or discarded, but Washington State University scientist Vikram Yadama […]

The world’s mounting plastic trash crisis is hard to solve because it has many dimensions: social, technical, and economic. But because chemistry brought the problem into the world, it doesn’t […]

PULLMAN, Wash. – A WSU research team for the first time has developed a promising way to recycle the popular carbon fiber plastics that are used in everything from modern airplanes […]

The most complex chemistry lab on the planet is growing in your neighborhood. There might be a tree in your own backyard, cranking out chemicals as it converts sunlight to […]

SEATTLE – Washington state-based Alaska Airlines today made history by flying the first commercial flight using the world’s first renewable, alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals, the limbs, and […]

Building tours, a reception, and music from the WSU Cougar Marching Band were part of the dedication of the new PACCAR Environmental Technology Building at Washington State University on Thursday, […]

Wood-framed skyscrapers, resistant to fire and earthquakes and made from locally harvested wood, may someday dot the skylines of North American cities. A new building at Washington State University, opening […]

A biodegradable gel that can absorb more than 250 times its weight in water could potentially help farmers retain moisture in drought-stricken fields. Read more…

Washington State University will receive a five-year, $40 million grant to help develop alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and chemicals. The award was announced Sept. 28 by U.S. Department of Agriculture […]

When an entrepreneur wanted to learn more about wood plastic composites (WPC), an Internet search led him to WSU. The ensuing partnership resulted in a factory opening that will employ […]

At the Washington State University Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory, Jinwen Zhang is working hard to change the negative impact plastic food utensils and other household items have on the […]

Bacteria break down waste, build bioplastics The same type of bacteria that help break down paper mill waste could also become an increasingly viable source of environmentally friendly biopolymers that […]

A structural wood plastic composite (WPC) developed with funding by the Office of Naval Research (under the direction of Ignacio Perez) was recently deployed in a pedestrian bridge accessing the Rattlesnake Wilderness […]

By Tina Hilding, College of Engineering and Architecture Rattlesnake Creek Pedestrian Bridge wins prestigious design award from the American Council of Engineering Companies The designers of an innovative bridge that […]

Three samples of premium wood-plastic composite lumber sit in a stack on a shelf in David Thompson’s office at Idaho National Laboratory. The dense, fine-grained boards are uniformly colored in shades […]

By Becky Phillips Contributing writer Polymer pallets support Washington exports In a research laboratory, a little like a giant kitchen, Jinwen Zhang is cooking up a recipe aimed at supporting […]