Newsletter Archives; Fall 1996

At a recent ceremony held in the lobby of the Mechanical Engineering Building, Dr. Robert Miller, Director of the UW Office of Technology Transfer, presided at a signing ceremony at which the University licensed a new semi-continuous production technology to W.R. Grace and Company for industrial use. Royalties from this lease will go to the Research Royalty Fund at the University and will be used to support promising research by other UW faculty.

The process, developed by Associate Professor Vipin Kumar and Mr. Henry G. Shirmer, represents a significant technological advance. Microcellular polymers are generally closed cell plastic foams which contain a large number of small bubbles. Compared with conventional solid polymers, use of microcellular polymers can result in an up to 20 to 40 percent reduction in the amount of material used in many applications. Lightweight microcellular polymers are particularly useful where weight is a critical factor, such as in the manufacture of aircraft.

At the same ceremony, Professor Kumar and Mr. Shirmer were presented awards for having submitted the best paper at the Society of Plastics Engineers' 1995 annual technical conference. Their paper, entitled "Semi-Continuous Production of Solid State PET Foams," describes the process they developed to produce micro-cellular polymers in a nearly continuous fashion, making it suitable for industrial production.

Professor Kumar is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the UW, and has been on the faculty since 1988. Mr. Shirmer, Director of New Technology at the CRYOVAC Division of W.R. Grace & Co. until his retirement in 1995, is now a consultant. The award was presented by Mr. Gantam P. Shah, chairman of the Best Paper Award Committee of the Society of Plastics Engineers.