4th Annual Ohio Nano Summit
The Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nano Devices (CMPND) held its 4th annual event April 9-11, 2008 in Mason, Oh at the impressive Great Wolf Lodge. Sherwood RTM Corp (Advanced Composite technologies) was invited by CMPND director Sharell Mikesell to participate in this year’s event. Companies from around the State of Ohio and several from around the country were in attendance for this unique gathering of leaders in various fields of Nanotechnology.
CMPND is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary organization devoted to the advancement of nanotechnology platforms, primarily in the State of Ohio. CMPND is centered at Ohio State University in conjunction with Akron University and University of Dayton. The principal focus is threefold: 1) Nanocomposites, 2) Polymer Photonics, and 3) Biomedical Devices. There are a total of six universities and over 50 large and small companies that have joined together to create commercialization opportunities through manufacturing protocols, and nanostructures for a wide range of applications. CMPND is co-directed by Sharell Mikesell and Jim Lee. To get more information on CMPND contact Dr. Mikesell at 330-289-2595.
Sherwood’s participation at this year’s event was centered on winning a sub-contract under Owens Corning for Ohio’s 3rd Frontier Research and Commercialization Program for funding of the development of an advanced nanocomposite for light aircraft ballistic protection. Sherwood hosted a table at the “mixer event” portion of the summit in which various companies were able to display their capabilities for those looking to collaborate for technology development. Sherwood’s topic was entitled Nano-Composite Manufacturing – Structural.
Sherwood has experience with fabricating ballistic materials and is also on the cutting edge of new composite materials. This combination of understanding ballistic materials and development of cutting edge materials along with research into the physics of ballistics impact has poised Sherwood in a unique position to be able to formulate some advanced composite configurations for ballistic applications. These advanced materials include the use of nano-materials. These are additives or fillers that measure on the billionth of an inch in size and can have radical changes in material properties at very low loadings. Sherwood is looking to nano-materials to see what advantages they may bring to ballistic resistant materials.
In addition, the above mentioned, Sherwood is also looking at nano-materials for other applications that involve making composite materials energy conductive thermally and electrically. There are a wide range of applications that can benefit from these highly conductive materials that are light-weight and corrosive resistant. Sherwood is working through a supply chain from researchers, and raw material suppliers up through end users to help identify these applications and commercialize them in a cost-effective manner.