You are invited to join the department for a seminar by Dr. Patrick Lee on his research on the process-structure-property relations of multiphase lightweight polymer foam structures and University of Toronto’s foam processing and characterization capabilities.
Abstract
Most new polymeric products contain two or more polymers and functional additives resulting in desired properties contributed from each component. Dr. Lee’s group is working on: (i) in-situ nano-fibrillated polymer composites, and (ii) micro-/nano-layer coextrusion to tune various structural and foam properties.
Foams can be prepared from any type of plastic by introducing a gas or supercritical fluid (SCF) within the polymer matrix. The applications of microcellular plastics containing billions of tiny bubbles less than 10 microns in size have broadened due to the lightweight characteristics, excellent strength-to-weight ratios, superior insulating abilities, energy absorbing performances and comfort features associated with plastic foams, as well as their cost effectiveness and cost-to-performance ratios.
In this presentation, Dr. Lee will discuss his current research on understanding the process-structure-property relations of multiphase lightweight polymer foam structures and University of Toronto’s foam processing and characterization capabilities.
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Patrick C. Lee received his MASc and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2001 and 2006, respectively. He pursued postdoctoral study in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota under Professor Chris Macosko.
In 2008, Dr. Lee began his professional career as a research scientist at the Dow Chemical Company’s Core Research and Development organization. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Vermont as an assistant professor in 2014, and the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto on July 1st, 2018. Since joining University of Toronto, he created the research platform on the lightweight composite structures.
Dr. Lee has 44 research journal papers, 101 refereed conference abstracts/papers, 2 book chapters and 17 filed or issued patent applications. He is the PI or co-PI on domestically and internationally awarded grants from various government agencies and industries.
Among his honors, Dr. Lee received the US National Science Foundation Early Faculty Career Development Award (CAREER) in 2018, the PPS Morand Lambla award in 2018, the Hanwha Advanced Materials Non-Tenured Faculty Award in 2017, and three ‘best paper’ awards from the Society of Plastics Engineer (2005, two in 2011). He also served on ANTEC TPM&F 2019 as the Technical Program Chair.