Polymer chemistry students Maya Sharma, left, and Morgan Williams discuss their experimental design with Kaitlyn Cathers, a development technician at Woodbridge Foam Corporation. Photo credit: Dr. Meredith Barbee.
When you look at the materials that make up the world around you such as tires, foams and plastics, chemistry probably isn’t the first thing you think of.
For Dr. Meredith Barbee, an assistant professor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Chemistry and Physics, chemistry is at the front and center—and she wants her students to have that perspective, too.
During the spring 2024 semester, she developed and taught a new course for the first time—Polymer Chemistry (CHEM 4040)—with a lecture and a lab focusing on the topic.
Polymer chemistry plays a crucial role in many industries, including manufacturing, medicine and electronics, as it enables the creation of advanced materials that meet specific needs and applications.
“Polymeric materials are made of long chain molecules that are built from the same atoms and bonds as other materials,” Barbee explained, “but their large size gives these materials properties that are distinct from small molecules that we cover in other chemistry classes.”
Rising UTC senior Laurel Washburn was one of her students.
“Polymer chemistry is my favorite chemistry course I have taken at UTC,” Washburn said. “Through the course I was able to see how the fields of organic, inorganic, bio- and physical chemistry intersect to create new materials.”
Along with the new course came an opportunity for students to collaborate with a local company.
Just 10 minutes from campus, Woodbridge Foam Corporation—a manufacturer of polyurethane foams—is using principles of polymer chemistry to design new materials and improve its manufacturing process.
Woodbridge is a global company with more than 7,000 employees in 40 locations spanning nine countries. The company’s comprehensive material technologies cater to automotive, commercial, recreational, packaging, health care and building product applications with a full range of services—including prototyping, consulting, technical support, chemical R&D and accredited laboratory testing.
While seeking analytical support from UTC in 2023, Carlisle Glover, a senior development chemist for Woodbridge, was introduced to Barbee and learned about the polymer chemistry course being offered.
“After learning more about the course, I saw an opportunity to create a win-win-win for the students, UTC and Woodbridge by turning our analytical needs into a real-world learning experience for students,” Glover said.
Dr. Meredith Barbee and Chase Matusek work together in the lab at UTC. Photo credit: Angela Foster.
When Barbee designed the new course, she wanted students “to experience the connection between the chemistry and polymer materials firsthand in a lab-based class.”
UTC’s chemistry degree is certified by the American Chemical Society, whose Committee on Professional Training establishes guidelines for the approval of bachelor’s degree programs.
“One of the most important guidelines is the requirement for laboratory experience,” said Barbee, a UTC faculty member since 2021. “Laboratory courses give students the opportunity to learn practical skills for safely handling hazardous reagents, synthesizing new compounds and analyzing data. They also provide the opportunity for experiential learning.”
Scientific problem-solving and critical thinking are also essential components, she said. In many conventional lab assignments, instructors and sometimes students already know what the outcome will be before the experiment begins. In science, that’s typically not the case.
“Chemists are often at the cutting edge of solving problems where outcomes are not known in advance,” Barbee said. “A top priority for me was for my class to put students in an environment where they would design the experiments, investigate real problems and contribute new knowledge to the field.
“As Mr. Glover and I began to work together, we realized that the problem-solving I was helping Woodbridge with would be the ideal opportunity for students to build scientific problem-solving skills and to learn on a deeper level.”
She explained that Woodbridge was obtaining different results from one batch to another in one of its product lines. The company was interested in understanding more about the structure and size of the polymers it was synthesizing.
Glover and Barbee worked together to include this problem-solving in the polymer chemistry lab course, with students traveling to the Woodbridge plant to learn about the manufacturing process and observe the pouring of the polymers to make foam.
“I loved being able to work with Woodbridge, tour their facility and learn how polymerization reactions are conducted at industrial scale,” Washburn said.
Upon returning to the UTC lab, students worked in pairs to design their own experiments using Woodbridge’s polymers. They discussed their experimental design with Glover and Kaitlyn Cathers, a development technician at Woodbridge.
The class presented the data they collected to Glover and Cathers at the end of the course.
“Collaborating on a project with Woodbridge was an exciting adventure that gave us freedom to use our polymer knowledge and devise a lab procedure to help Woodbridge and ourselves understand how small changes in the synthesis of an elastomer can greatly impact the durability and elastic qualities,” rising UTC senior Chase Matusek said. “Seeing the laboratory at Woodbridge gave me insight on the industry career route of chemistry and better understanding how the small scale but crucial research that goes on that lab is scaled up to for industry purposes.”
Barbee expressed gratitude to Glover, Cathers and Woodbridge for their collaboration.
“Working alongside these professionals has been an incredible opportunity for our students,” she said. “They collected never-before-seen data that will actually be used by Woodbridge in the future.”
Learn More
Photos courtesy of Dr. Meredith Barbee
Woodbridge Senior Development Chemist Carlisle Glover addresses the UTC polymer chemistry class. Photo credit: Dr. Meredith Barbee.
