Polymer Café

This is our extracurricular educational program, which runs on Tuesdays from 17:00 to 18:00 in the Wolfson Research ExchangeLink opens in a new window during term time. Love polymer science and engineering?

The aim is to establish an enthusiastic learning and research community with the ambitious goal of exploring innovative solutions together that will help move society towards a sustainable and circular plastics economy.

Every Tuesday during term time (30 sessions per year, 17:00-18:00), starting the academic year 2024/2025, a 1-hour interactive learning session is planned that teaches participants a specific high-end aspect in polymer science and engineering, after which the floor is open for active discussion and idea generation. Experts in the field will coordinate these masterclasses and discussion sessions. The activity is open to any student and staff member at Warwick. Join us at Polymer Café in the Wolfson Research Exchange to find out more.

Next up in Polymer Café:

Previously in Polymer Café:

Slides of previous sessions can be found in our archive. You must be logged in as a member of the University of Warwick to access this information.

Future Polymer Café sessions:

You can suggest topics for future Polymer Café discussion sessions.

CH991-15 CATS

LEVEL 7 MODULE

Open to:

Postgraduate Students from any department

year 3, year 4 Undergraduate Students from any department

NO prerequisites

Plastics: the good, the bad, and the future

In the 20th century polymer science gave us materials with remarkable and durable properties to the great benefit of humanity. Plastics were fantastic. Now, a green polymer (r)evolution is urgently needed so that plastics will be the material that rebalances the needs and prosperity of humanity with the environmental and sustainable needs of our planet. This module will discuss how different types of plastics are made, what they are used for and why they are the current material of choice. It will discuss the environmental sustainability challenges that we face and how we can find an environmentally sustainable way forward to live in harmony with a healthier planet.

CH278-15 CATS

LEVEL 5 MODULE

Core module for year 2 Chemistry UG students.

Open to:

year 2 Undergraduate students with a basic understanding of Chemistry from any Department.

Macromolecules

Macromolecules are central to life. Nature has created natural macromolecules such as cellulose to enable trees and plants to form and DNA and RNA for the evolution and coding of life. Scientists have developed synthetic macromolecules that can be applied in a wide range of material applications, as a result of their physical and performance properties. This module will cover the synthetic concepts and structures of both synthetic and natural polymers and discuss their use in our daily lives.