| Faculty Member |
| Dr.
Ramdhane Dhib, Assistant Professor, Department of
Chemical Engineering, Ryerson University |
Research Interests
Modeling, simulation and control of polymer reactors and infrared dryers; artificial intelligence in chemical engineering.
Research Projects
Process modelling and process control, optimisation techniques, kinetic studies of free radical polymerisation using new initiators, modelling, simulation of polymer reactor dynamics and the drying of polymer products by infra-red radiations.
Dr.
Dhib's Home Page
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| Dr. Thomas Duever, Professor
and Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering |

Research Interests
Applied statistics, experimental design, parameter estimation, model discrimination, industrial experiments, continuous process improvement, product development, monte carlo simulation, reactivity ratio estimation.
Research Projects
Multiresponse estimation and experimental design methods, reactivity ratio estimation, statistical aspects of polyolefin characterization and catalyst site type identification, copolymerization modelling/database enhancement, fault detection using neural network models, markov chain monte carlo product development methods.
Dr.
Duever's Home Page
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| Dr. Jean Duhamel, Associate Professor,
Department of Chemistry |

Research Interests
Characterization of polymers and their aggregates in solution using the combination of fluorescence, light scattering, rheology, and surface tension.
Research Projects
Study of the temperature-dependant microcrystallization of polyolefins in oils, characterization of polymer/surfactant associations in solution, new polypeptide-based drug delivery system, dynamics of polypeptides in solution, polypeptide synthesis via DNA recombinant technology, gene delivery.
Dr.
Duhamel's Home Page
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| Dr.
Xianshe Feng, Associate Professor, Department of
Chemical Engineering |
Research Interests
Synthetic membranes and membrane processes, hollow fibers, membrane-based contactors and reactors, adsorption separation, facilitated transport, and hybrid separation processes.
Research Projects
Development and characterization of hollow fiber membranes, gas separation and purification, separation of azeotropic and close-boiling liquids by pervaporation, olefin/paraffin separation, VOCs recovery, CO2 capture from flue gas.
Dr.
Feng's Home Page
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| Dr. Mario Gauthier, Professor,
Department of Chemistry |

Research Interests
Synthesis, characterization, and applications of highly branched (arborescent) polymers. Polymer-supported reagents and catalysts, polymer modification, copolymerization, ion-containing polymers, water-soluble polymers. Polymer-modified metallic particles.
Research Projects
Novel synthetic routes to highly branched (arborescent) polymers. Arborescent Polymers as Melt Processing Additives. Interfacial Properties of Amphiphilic Copolymers. Metal-Loaded Copolymer Micelles. Thermal Interface Materials with Metallic Fillers. Polymer-Stabilized Nickel Nanoparticle Catalysts. Polyisobutylene Ionomers.
Dr.
Gauthier's Home Page
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| Dr.
Neil McManus, Research Assistant Professor,
Department of Chemical Engineering |

Research Interests
Kinetics of free radical polymerisation. Chemical modification of commercial rubbers to produce physical property modifications, hydrogenation of butadiene rubbers. Methods for modifying polymer bulk and surface properties. Effects of nitroxyl radical controllers in polymerization and polymer decomposition. Kinetic investigations of the production of water soluble polymers.
Research Projects
Multicomponent free radical polymerisation for the production of novel polymers. Kinetics in controlled radical polymerization. Kinetic studies and characterization of products by NMR, IR and GPC. Production and characterization of modified plastics and rubbers by melt and solution phase grafting. Investigation of improvements to production processes for hydrogenated and depolymerized diene rubbers. Kinetics of catalytic hydrogenation of diene polymers. Kinetics of nitroxide mediated polymerizations. The effects of NOR controllers in degradation of polypropylene.
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Dr. Alexander Penlidis, Professor, Director:
Institute for Polymer Research
Department of Chemical Engineering |

Research Interests
Kinetics, mathematical modelling and simulation of polymerization processes, polymer and latex sensors, polymer reactor design, optimization and computer control.
Research Projects
Optimal sensor selection for polymerization processes, initiator performance evaluation, multifunctional initiators, depropagation kinetics, modelling and kinetics of emulsion copolymerizations, model discrimination in polymerization processes, polymer kinetics, trajectory control in batch and semi-batch emulsion reactors, multiresponse estimation and experimental design methods, control of polymer reactors, suspension polymerization of styrene/divinyl benzene, properties of polymeric materials, creep in pipes, living radical polymerization.
Dr.
Penlidis' Home Page
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| Dr. Leonardo
Simon,
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering |
Research Interests
Synthesis of polymers using coordination catalysis, characterization of polymer structure, and testing thermal and mechanical properties of polymers; development of novel polymer nanocomposites, mathematical modeling of polymerization mechanisms.
Research Projects
Modeling structure-properties of ethylene-alpha olefin copolymers; preparation of polymer nanocomposites with nanosize fillers using in situ polymerization for applications in energy, automotive and coatings; chemical, thermal and mechanical characterization of materials; synthesis and modeling of advanced thermoplastic elastomers; characterization of membrane electrolyte assemblies (MEA) for hydrogen fuel cells; wood and crop polymer bio-composites; chemical mapping of thin-films with FTIR microscopy.
Dr.
Simon's Home Page
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| Dr. Joao B.P. Soares, Professor,
Department of Chemical Engineering |

Research Interests
Ziegler-Natta, metallocene, and late transition metal catalysis, free-radical polymerization, atom transfer free radical polymerization (ATRP), polymerization kinetics, polymerization reactor modelling and simulation, Monte Carlo simulation of polymerization processes, characterization of polymer microstructure by TREF, CRYSTAF, GPC, NMR and DSC, polymer structure-property relationships.
Research Projects
Synthesis and modeling of branched polyolefin thermoplastic elastomers using mixed metallocene catalysts, modeling and parameter estimation of olefin polymerization kinetics with coordination catalysts, modeling of free radical polymerization processes, synthesis of functional polyolefins with coordination catalysts in solution and in confined geometries, synthesis and characterization of clay/polyolefin nanocomposites, mathematical modeling of clay exfoliation during gas phase polymerization of olefins, synthesis of polyolefins containing functional long chain branches made by ATRP.
Dr.
Soares' Home Page
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| Dr. Pearl Sullivan, Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering |

Research Interests
Research Projects
Dr. Pearl Sullivan's Home Page
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| Dr. Costas Tzoganakis,
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering |

Research Interests
Polymer processing, reactive extrusion of polymers, chemical modification of polymers, processing of polymers with supercritical fluids, mathematical modeling and computer simulations of polymer processing, and rheology of polymer melts.
Research Projects
Scale-up rules for polymer reactive extrusion, compounding of polymer blends, inferential sensors for rheological properties, hydrosilylation of polyolefins through reactive extrusion, surface tension of polymers in supercritical fluids, extrusion of polymer blends with supercritical CO2, reactive blending with supercritical CO2, analysis of mixing in twin screw extruders, controlled-rheology polypropylenes, polymer micronization with supercritical CO2.
Dr.
Tzoganakis' Home Page
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| Dr. Eduardo Vivaldo-Lima, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, UNAM, Mexico
|

Research Interests
Modeling and simulation of polymerization processes. Design of polymeric materials with controlled microstructures (molecular weight distributions, branching, and crosslinking).
Research Projects
Controlled/”Living” Radical Polymerization (NMRP, RAFT, ATRP and INIFERTER). Polymerization and processing in supercritical carbon dioxide. Dispersed phase polymerization (suspension, dispersion and emulsion). Microwave activated polymerizations. Polymer network formation. Reactive processing. Optimization of Polymerization Processes.
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