Student Roundtable Creates New Connections
This year, the Macromolecular Science and Engineering (MACR) Graduate Student Council held its fourth MII Innovation and Collaboration Roundtable (ICR). The ICR is an annual event for students to share their research and find new connections across campus. The workshop aims to create space where students can gain new perspectives and assist each other in solving research problems.
Almost 50 students attended this year’s ICR, ranging from undergraduates to fifth year PhD students. The workshop showcased 18 presenters, with opportunities for attendees to ask questions and provide solutions to nagging research questions.
Collaboration periods were included to allow students to network and foster new relationships. Roughly 75% of participants were able to form a new partnership from the event. Opportunities like this are vital for student progression and research innovation. The MACR Student Council and ICR continue to advance MII’s vision by facilitating interdisciplinary, collaborative research.
Presentations:
| Presenter | Presentation/Poster Title | Research Group/Advisor |
Kyle Mirabile |
Electric-Field Effects on Cure Kinetics and Network Development in Epoxy-Amine Systems | Sarmah Research Lab Dr. Anubhav Sarmah Polymer Composite Materials Lab PCML Dr. Michael Bortner |
Anna Cross | Coote Lab | Dr. Jonathan Coote |
Christian Lee | Extractables and Leachables (E&L): Emerging Migrants from Packaging Materials to Drugs and Medical Devices | MedPharmsPack Lab Kambiz Sadeghi |
Laura Simpson | Membranes@VT | Membranes@VTDr. Stephen Martin |
Fiorella Mazzini | Carbohydrate polymers - from polymer blends to drug delivery | Edgar Research Group Dr. Kevin Edgar |
Bushra Tousian | Engineering Self‑Assembling Peptide Scaffolds for Regenerative Medicine: Bridging Molecular Design and 3D Biofabrication | Matson Lab Dr. John Matson |
Mahmudur Rahman | Sarmah Lab: Sustainable Material Processing Laboratory | Sarmah Research Lab Dr. Anubhav Sarmah |
Chisom Friday | Synthesis of controlled drug delivery system based on Oxidized hydroxypropyl pullulan double network nanogels | Edgar Research Group Dr. Kevin Edgar |
Regina Ham | Introduction to Worch lab and potential collaborations | Dr. Josh Worch |
Cameron Jordan | Polymer Composite Materials Lab (PCML) | Polymer Composite Materials Lab PCML Dr. Michael Bortner |
Maksud Khan | Synthesis and Characterization of Fast-gelling, Self-healing, and Injectable Hydrogels based on Oxidized Hydroxypropyl Alginate and Carboxymethyl Chitosan | Edgar Research Group Dr. Kevin Edgar |
Regina Ham | Worch lab | Dr. Josh Worch |
Fiorella Mazzini | Edgar Research Lab | Edgar Research Group Dr. Kevin Edgar |
Jonathan Spear | Influence of Electric Fields on Thermoset Polymerization: A Rheo-Kinetic Study | Sarmah Research Lab Dr. Anubhav Sarmah |
Waverly Tang & Christin Callis | Systematic Investigation of Photoinitiated Thiol-Ene Click Polymer Networks | Sarmah Research Lab Dr. Anubhav Sarmah |
Renee Silarszka | Predicting Printability in Selective Laser Sintering using fundamental characterization techniques | Sarmah Research Lab Dr. Anubhav Sarmah |
Alex Cheng | Thermal and Mechanical Characterization of a Siloxane-Based Covalent Adaptable Network | Sarmah Research Lab Dr. Anubhav Sarmah |
Ruwanthika Kularathna | Morphology and Gas Separation Performance of CNC Incorporated Triblock-Copolymer Nanocomposites Membranes | Membranes@VTDr. Stephen Martin |