The University of Wisconsin’s renowned Polymer Engineering Center is collaborating with the University of Massachusetts-Lowell to design the curriculum for a new plastics institution in India, expected to break ground later this year.
A memorandum between UW, UM-Lowell and Plastindia was signed two weeks ago. Plastindia, India’s largest plastics trade association, has decided to build the new plastics institution.
Plastics are moldable synthetic materials that can be made into products such as PVC pipes, beverage bottles and plastic bags. The plastics work will include research on the material, as well as creation of new uses and products.
India’s plastics industry has experienced exponential growth, but there is a shortage of engineers, according Tim Osswald, professor and co-director of the UW Polymer Engineering Center.
“The plastics industry in India is very exciting,” he said. “It is the fastest growing plastics industry in the world, but they are really in need of trained personnel. That’s where this university comes into the picture.”
In formulating plans for the new institution, Plastindia looked to previously-established institutions with expertise for advice.
“We’re using what we do here as the template to help them set up this new program,” UW mechanical engineering professor Frank Pfefferkorn said. “They sought out the best institution. They could have picked anybody in the world, and they came to us, and that says something about us.”
UW professors will meet with Plastindia to train new faculty and determine what kind of courses will be taught. Osswald said UW professors will help primarily with academic aspects at the institution.
The new institution will create opportunities for prospective plastics engineering students in India to train and create new products, Osswald said.
Additionally, the new insitution will open doors for UW students seeking engineering experiences abroad.
“Eventually, students will probably be part of exchanges,” Osswald said. “In the future, we will have internships where students can go to India for the summer, and we’ll also have students come here. It will help students to think globally and to think in an international way.”
UW has an extensive legacy in the field of plastics engineering. It was the first mechanical engineering program to add plastics to its curriculum, with the first class taught in 1946, according to Osswald.
Engineering School Dean Paul Peercy stated this legacy continues today. He added many companies throughout Wisconsin now have their roots with previous UW students.
“We have a strong polymer engineering education program, and we have a polymer engineering industrial consortium that interacts with a lot of companies in and around the state of Wisconsin,” he said.
Through helping create the curriculum for the new plastics institution, UW’s Polymer Engineering Center will contribute to the world of engineering, Pfefferkorn said.
“Our emphasis on the combination of teaching and research will now hopefully be emulated at this new institution and thereby further our excellence and help teach more engineers,” Pfefferkorn said.