Click the above image to View Photo Gallery

Degradable Plastics [S-16-19]

Degradable plastics have been promised as a panacea for many things. One day we may have biomedical devices such as bone cements and ‘dissolving’ sutures from all that plastic trash that blows around in landfills and supermarket parking lots. How close have degradable plastics come to living up to their promise? What does the future hold for plastics? This talk will look at where using degradable plastics has worked, where it hasn’t, and what challenges remain before we see widespread use of degradable plastics.

Devon Shipp is a chemistry professor at Clarkson University where he is also chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science. Although he was born and raised in Australia, he now calls Potsdam home (although he and his family recently spent nearly 7 months in Slovenia where he was a Fulbright Scholar). His research specialization centers on the synthesis of polymers (plastics), particularly those that can undergo biodegradation. Devon has several dozen peer-reviewed research publications, many invited talks and conference presentations, and a well-funded research program at Clarkson.