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John
R. Dorgan
Professor
BS
University of Massachusetts
PhD University of California, Berkeley
Post-doctoral study at Max Planck Institut fur Polymerforschung
Structural development in advanced polymeric materials; controlling structure/property relationships in synthetic materials
Research
Description
I believe in balancing experimental work with theoretical and modeling
studies. Theoretical models provide the framework for interpreting experimental
results available from rheology, ellipsometry, microscopy, and spectroscopy
experiments. I am working to advance the science and technology of biobased
polymers, polymer membranes, and the computer simulation of polymeric
materials.
Ecological concerns are a predominant theme for the 21st century; humanity
must develop sustainable systems for materials and fuels. Biologically
derived and inspired materials offer hope for achieving this important
goal. Also, nanotechnology is rapidly expanding and its convergence with
both biology and ecology is now being recognized. Ecobionanocomposites
are a new class of green materials that exploit this triple convergence
of technologies and are an active area of investigation within my group.
In this technical area, we work to maximize the renewable content of
these next-generation plastics materials under the guidelines
of the principles of green chemistry.
In membrane science, my group is working on non-equilibrium rubbery blends
for biorefining and other separation applications. In polymer science
and engineering it is common to produce a material with superior characteristics
through blending. Components of the blend can contribute in a synergistic
way in order to produce a material with properties that are far superior
to either of the individual components. We are developing hierarchical
modeling strategies to better understand complex liquid transport in
polymer films; these models are useful in designing non-equilibrium blends
for specific separations.
The development of efficient and scalable algorithms for understanding
polymers over a wide range of length and timescales is a long-standing
goal in polymer science. We are working with computationally efficient
lattice models to describe the flow and deformation of polymeric materials.
My group is actively studying the important question of how such molecular
models can be tied to continuum scale simulations of fluid flow.
The long-term transition away from fossil fuels towards a sustainable
system of providing fuels and materials is the greatest technical challenge
facing humanity. Our efforts are aimed at improving the efficiency of
present systems while working to develop new technologies that are inherently
more environmentally benign and sustainable. Clearly, this is an important
and exciting area in which to work and there is much to be done!
To learn more about renewable plastics:
Professor Dorgan was an invited keynote the annual Environmental Protection Agency’s Scientific Forum held May 6-8th, 2003 in Washington DC. His presentation was on Environmentally Benign Polymer Packaging Materials and may be viewed from this link (1.7MB). He presently serves as the President of the Bioenvironmental Polymer Society; more information about this society may be found at www.beps.org. His work on polylactides has resulted in a melt flow predictor that may be down loaded from this link (Excel file - 0.3MB).
Click here (20MB) to see Professor Dorgan speak at this event
Click here to hear me interviewed on public radio about the Colorado Center for Biofuels and Biorefining (C2B2)
Honors
and Awards
1995
NSF CAREER Award
Hertz Fellow
Contact
Information
John R. Dorgan
429 Alderson Hall
Chemical Engineering Department
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO 80401
Office: (303) 273-3539
FAX: (303) 273-3730
jdorgan@mines.edu
