R&D Polymer Engineer

WEIJIE REN, PH.D.

** ********** ** **** ****, Apt. A East Lansing, MI 48823 Phone: 517-***-**** Email: ******@*****.*** PROFILE: R&D POLYMER ENGINEER

Providing project and technical guidance for innovative research programs

v Polymer engineer with over 5 years of hands-on experience in polymeric product development, processing strategies and design tools.

v Profound scientific and technical knowledge of material formulations (polymers, functional modifiers, additives etc.) and processing behavior.

v Well versed with statistical analytical techniques and s/w tools. v Excellent oral and written communication skills with an extensive background collaborating with all levels of the organization.

v Critical thinker with excellent presentation and public speaking skills.

AREA OF COMPETENCE

§ Thermoplastic, Polymer Blends, Composites, and Nanocomposites

§ Polymer Processing (melt compounding, extrusion, injection moulding, film blowing)

§ Surface and Interface Chemistry

§ Rheology of Polymers Melts for Process Control and Modification

§ Material Property Characterization (SEM, DSC, DMA, TMA, FTIR, United Testing System etc.)

§ AutoCAD, Matlab, LabView

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY • 2011-Present

Ph.D. Candidate Research Assistant

Project 1: Processing polypropylene nanocomposites with silylated organoclays.

§ Developed a new PP-layered silicate nanocomposites with enhanced interfacial interactions. The resulting nanocomposites have excellent nanoparticle dispersion and superior melt strength evidenced by the strain hardening behavior under uniaxial extensional flow.

Ø Introduced for the first time a large-scale, solvent-free process for silane treatment of organoclay with superior effectiveness in silane grafting compared to the traditional solvent-based approach.

Project 2: Collaborated with Petoskey Plastics to develop thin films based on linear polypropylene.

§ Developed effective masterbatch additives for film blowing of linear polypropylene. The resulting additive containing PP blown films exhibit elevated bubble stability, thickness uniformity and mechanical properties.

Ø Designed compound formulations and processing protocol for PP blown films.

Ø Characterized crystalline orientation with FESEM and X-Ray pole figures; established structure-property relationships of the blown films.

Project 3: Modeling and experimental investigation of linear viscoelastic properties of functionalized PP/organoclay nanocomposites.

§ Developed a viscoelastic model based on nanocomposite systems with different modes of polymer-particle coupling; the model successfully probe the underlying mechanism of enhanced elasticity and solid-like behavior of nanofilled entangled polymer melts at low frequency regimes.

Project 4: Collaborated with Exxon Mobil on the non-linear rheology of polyamide-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) for film blowing.

§ Investigated the melt fracture phenomenon of extruded TPE compounds with lubricant in relation to the morphology and rheological properties to control and optimize the processing.

Ø Revealed the lubricant action during extrusion of TPE compounds; successfully quantified the internal lubrication (from bulk viscosity curves) and the overall lubrication (from apparent viscosity curves) by analyzing the stratified flow based on a viscous model.

Ø Proposed die designs with respect to the wall slip behaviors for successful elimination of the sharkskin effect of extruded TPE compounds.

General laboratory maintenance and management

§ Executed on-time, under-budget project management on complex issues for senior leadership.

§ Lengthened equipment up time by delivering preventative maintenance on laboratory equipment.

§ Employed best laboratory safety practices with zero complaints, hazards, incidents or lost-time accidents.

§ Mitigated regulatory risks by supporting laboratory issues to enhance corrective action and process improvement.

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY • 2013, 2014

Teaching Assistant

§ Supported 2 senior-level undergraduate Composite Materials Processing laboratories.

§ Assisted with laboratory preparation, evaluation of laboratory reports, grading, and general classroom inquiries.

BEIJING UNIVERSITY OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY • 2010-2011 Student Assistant

§ Under the direction of Dr. Yu Zhong-Zhen investigated electrically conductive polylactic acid reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites.

Ø Partnered with graduate students to share and implement research initiatives and resolve issues,.

Ø Responsible for design of experiments to develop and characterize the rGO.

Ø Aided with the development of PLA nanocomposites with rGO; the resulting nanocomposites exhibited electrical conductivity values far more superior to other composites at similar loadings.

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering; Michigan State University; Aug. 2016

§ Dissertation – “Processing and properties of blown film from polypropylene/clay nanocomposites and thermoplastic elastomers”

Bachelor of Engineering in Polymer Science and Engineering; Beijing University of Chemical Technology

HONORs

§ Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Michigan State University, 2015

§ William J. & Julia L. Hargreaves Fellowship in Composite Materials, Michigan State University, 2015

§ SPE® Automotive TPO Scholarship Award, Society of Plastics Engineers, 2014

§ National Scholarship Award, Ministry of Education, China, 2009

ADDENDUM

PATENT

1. Ren W., Jayaraman K., Rane H. R., Thermoplastic polymeric nanocomposite films and related methods, U.S. Provisional Patent Application, Attorney Docket No. 32213/40041, filed October 2015 REFEREED PUBLICATIONS

2. Ren W., Chaudhary A. K., Jayaraman K., Processing polypropylene nanocomposites with silylated organoclays: coupling at edges vs. gallery faces, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2015, 54, 4264-4273 (Scott Fogler Festschrift special issue)

3. Ren W., Jayaraman K., Masterbatch additives for processing films from polypropylene, Polymer International, submitted

4. Ren W., Jayaraman K., Modeling the linear viscoelastic behavior of polypropylene-organoclay nanocomposites with silane coupling agents, in preparation

5. Shen Y., Jing T., Ren W., Zhang J., Jiang Z-G., Yu Z-Z., Dasari A., Chemical and thermal reduction of graphene oxide and its electrically conductive polylactic acid nanocomposites, Composites Science and Technology, 2012, 72, 1430-1435

PRESENTATIONS

6. Ren W., Jayaraman K., Melt rheology of polypropylene-clay nanocomposites with silane coupling agent, 86th Annual Meeting of the Society of Rheology, Philidailphia, PA, 2014 (Oral presentation) 7. Ren W., Jayaraman K., Processing of recycled polypropylene-clay nanocomposite, Society of Plastics Engineers - TPO, Troy, MI, 2014 (Oral presentation) 8. Ren W., Jayaraman K., Varying effects of extrusion on structure and rheology of polypropylene-layered silicate nanocomposites, 85th Annual Meeting of the Society of Rheology, Montréal, Canada, 2013 (Oral presentation)

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