Student Travel Support to 3D Printing of Polymeric Composites & Hybrid Systems Symposium at American Chemical Society National Meeting; San Diego, California; March 20-24, 2022

This award provides travel support for students, post-docs and young faculty to attend and participate in the Symposium on "3D Printing of Polymeric Composites and Hybrid Systems " at the Spring American Chemical Society (ACS) national meeting in San Diego, CA, in March 20-24, 2022. The symposium focuses on new research in the field of polymer processing, composite and hybrid systems and additive manufacturing.

The students present through oral and poster sessions their latest research results to the polymer processing, advanced manufacturing and broader engineering communities. Priority is given to student and young faculty participants who are women or who come from underrepresented minority groups. This approach promotes diverse participation at the conference, in the short term, and in STEM fields, in the long term.

This award benefits the nation through the education of a skilled and diverse manufacturing workforce, which is better prepared to provide transformative solutions the challenges in their chosen fields.

This participant support is expected to benefit the students' professional, scientific and technical development. Attendance at the conference gives the students and young faculty a broader view of the polymer processing, composite and hybrid systems, additive manufacturing and engineering profession and of state-of-the-art research in their fields via access to several technical and professional development talks by leading domestic and international speakers.

In particular, the symposium will discuss sustainability, recycling and remanufacturing. It will also discuss 3D printing strategies to mitigate polymer waste. Students enhance their communication skills through oral and poster presentations, in-depth discussions of their work with peers in their fields.

This interactive experience significantly broadens student education, increases their enthusiasm for their research topic, acquaints them with expectations for scientific careers, and exposes them to new approaches for innovative research.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.