PSE UMass Hokkaido University Symposium
On Tuesday, January 20, join faculty from UMass Amherst Polymer Science and Engineering and Hokkaido University for a one-day symposium in the Conte Research Center.
We are excited to welcome our colleagues Toshifumi Satoh, Takuya Isono, and Feng Li from Hokkaido University to speak at the symposium. The program will also feature talks by PSE faculty Alfred Crosby, Melody Morris, Todd Emrick, Reika Katsumata and Bryan Coughlin.
Schedule
8:55 a.m. welcoming remarks by Bryan Coughlin
9:00 a.m. Al Crosby, "Latches and Bottlebrush Poroelasticity for Amplified Movement in Soft Matter"
9:40 a.m. Melody Morris, "Acceleration of Enzymatic Depolymerization via High-Throughput Experimentation"
10:20 a.m. Takuya Isono, "Sustainable Polymer Design Using Oligosaccharide Building Blocks"
11:00 a.m. morning break with coffee/tea refreshments
11:20 a.m. Toshifumi Satoh, "One-pot One-step Synthesis of Block Copolyester Using Organocatalysts"
12:00 p.m. Todd Emrick, "Synthetic Polymer Design of Responsive Structures at Fluid and Hybrid Interfaces"
12:40 p.m. Symposium photos and lunch
2:00 p.m. Reika Katsumata, "Thermal Upgrading of Synthetic and Natural Polymers"
2:40 p.m. Feng Li, "Development of Sustainable Polymers from Cellulose-Derived Compounds"
3:20 p.m. Bryan Coughlin, "Chemical Upcycling of Polyolefins"
This symposium continues the collaboration and partnership between Professor Edward Bryan Coughlin (UMass) and Professor Toshifumi Satoh (HU), who were selected to in the inaugural round of the UMA-HU Joint Research Seed Funding Program 2025. Their proposal, "Sustainable Synthesis of Polymers: Advanced Designs for Circularity," focuses on designing polymers that are easily chemically recyclable, biodegradable, or can be repurposed, minimizing waste.