Mizzou Engineering researcher helps turn food wastes into biodegradable plastics

A Mizzou Engineer is helping researchers at Virginia Tech develop a process to convert food wastes into biodegradable plastics. Caixia “Ellen” Wan is an associate professor of chemical and biomedical Engineering and a bioprocess engineer. She’s part of a team that received a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to upscale bioplastic production with the goal of replacing petroleum-based plastics while also keeping leftovers out of landfills.

Mizzou celebrates opening of MU Materials Science & Engineering Institute

A new institute at Mizzou will advance collaboration around materials research and education across campus. University and College leaders celebrated the grand opening of the MU Materials Science & Engineering Institute (MUMSEI) at a symposium and ribbon cutting event on Friday.

New method could use less energy to turn seawater into drinking water

A Mizzou Engineer is taking another look at a desalination system that uses electricity to pull ions out of water.

Designing new ways to understand material

A Mizzou Engineer has designed two techniques for understanding the behavior of materials. The discoveries could be a game-changer for material scientists working to improve batteries and other technologies.

Bringing deep learning to materials science: MU team reaches breakthrough

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms that has a wide array of potential uses, particularly as a candidate material for use in electronic devices, such as LED screens, touch panels, smart phones and solar cells. Graphene’s electrical and optical properties can be significantly altered for better usage. Discovering how these atoms tune to create these properties is one of the most pressing questions in materials science.