Polymer Engineering Center

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Today, the plastics industry plays a significant role in the state of Wisconsin and the nation. The Wisconsin plastics industry employs over 60,000 people, and ranks in the top 10 states in the US. According to the Society of the Plastics Industry, the plastics industry is the fourth-largest manufacturing industry in the United States, accounting for approximately $331 billion in annual shipments and more than 1.5 million direct employees nationwide. Since 1976, plastics have been the most widely used materials in this nation, surpassing steel, copper, and aluminum in combined volume. In spite of the strong growth and ubiquity of plastic products, the plastics industry continually faces new customer demands, furious global competition, steadily rising oil prices, and growing environmental concerns. Many problems remain unsolved and new ones appear each day. To address these problems collectively with the plastics industry through education, training, and research, faculty members at the College of Engineering at the UW-Madison joined force together to create PEC in 2001. In October 2002, PEC joined the Center for Applied Polymer and Composites Engineering (CAPCE) at The Ohio State University and the Florida Advanced Center for Composite Technologies (FAC2T) at Florida A&M University and Florida State University and became a multi-University Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) sponsored by the industrial consortia of these three centers and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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  18 April 2019

  2019 Milwaukee Society of Plastics Engineers Education Night and Dinner

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  07 April 2019

  Gerardo Mazzei had a chance to present his work on "A Novel Failure Criterion Applied for Fused Filament Fabrication Parts" last week at AMUG, Chicago 2019.

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  30 March 2019

  The 19th Annual International Polymer Colloquium photos are now available. Go check them out !!

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  09 February 2019

  Congratulations to our Co-Director of the Polymer Engineering Center Tim Osswald on being part of "Misión de Sabios". It's an honor!!

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  15 December 2018

  I'm pleased to announce the launch of the new PEC website. Our former webmaster Lukas Duddleston worked hard on this project for the past year.

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  19 October 2018

  Alec Redmann presenting his work on "3D Printed B-Stage Epoxy for Adhesive Bonding in Composite Structures" at CAMX 2018

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  16 September 2018

  PEC reunion at IMTS in Chicago

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  15 September 2018

  Congratulations to MSc Thesis defenders!

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  07 September 2018

  We are excited to announce the PEC took 1st and 2nd place awards at the Society of Plastics Engineers Automotive Composites and Conference Exhibition (SPE ACCE) this week in Novi, MI.

  Sara Simon 1st Place - "Predicting Fiber Orientation Evolution Using Particle-Level Simulation: An Experimental Validation"

  Alec Redmann 2nd Place - "3D Printed B-Stage Epoxy for Hybrid Composites in High-Performance Automotive Applications"

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  Sara and Alec competed against nearly 100 students from across North America presenting their research to industry and academic experts. Congratulations!

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  02 May 2018

  We set a new record at the PEC today: Four master's defenses before noon!

  Congratulations and best wishes to our newest graduates - Ian Walter, Vera Dahmen, Johannes Austermann, and Bastian Heinen

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  18 March 2018

  Members of the PEC spent Saturday morning giving tours of our lab to high school students in the community interested in studying engineering. Thank you to the UW-Madison Society of Women Engineers (SWE) for organizing the event and inviting us to participate!

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  12 February 2018

  Welcome the newest member of the Polymer Engineering Center!

  Bucky was manufactured on our Cosine Additive AM1, standing 64 cm (25 inches) tall, weighing 3.5 kg (8 lbs), and a final print time of over 48 hours.

  Credit: Tal Swenson

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  08 August 2017

  At the Solid Freeform Fabrication conference in Austin, TX: Gerardo playing a 3D printed guitar made with SLS

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  24 July 2017

  Summer Composites Processing students making a paddle board

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