Student Events

Polymer Science Graduate Students Tour Overseas

This summer, graduate students participating in NSF’s Integrative Graduate Experience in Research and Training (IGERT) program traveled to China to gain firsthand knowledge of the emerging role of science, technology, and business in the world's most populous nation. Our polymer science department is working with the University of Mississippi’s pharmacy school in an Entrepreneurial Medicinal Polymer Science International Immersion project as part of the IGERT grant, providing an interdisciplinary effort to combine education in medicinal chemistry and polymer sciences with entrepreneurial and business training.

For three weeks in May, more than a dozen polymer science graduates and faculty from Southern Miss joined their chemistry counterparts from the University of Mississippi for the Far East excursion. Participating in the Entrepreneurship at the Interface of Medicinal and Polymer Science (EMPS) International Immersion program, students and faculty visited Tongji University in Shanghai and Tsinghua and Peking University in Beijing. They engaged in joint scientific poster sessions and received formal lectures by Tongji and Southern Miss faculty on the current climate in China for American scientific entrepreneurs and businesses. They also visited business, manufacturing, and research and development facilities for multinational corporations and Chinese-based startup companies.

Quoting Dr. Wicks, "China is the largest and fastest growing market in the world. In the future, they will be our primary competitor from an economic and political standpoint. This trip really allowed the students to grasp the concept of China as a competitor, partner, and customer."

Students explored foreign industrial internship opportunities with companies conducting business in China like Bayer, General Electric, and Rohm and Haas. Stacy Trey, a Southern Miss graduate, said she is considering a three-month internship at Bayer. "It was really interesting to see the different approaches to establishing a business in China," Trey said.

During the students' free time, cultural exchanges between East and West were frequent and fun. Wicks said: "They received lots of questions from the Chinese students, like 'What's life like in America?' Despite their language and cultural differences, they found that Chinese students have many of the same concerns as they do such as job stability and having a happy, successful life."

Micah Black, another Southern Miss graduate student, continued his travel to Hong Kong and Tokyo. "It was interesting to note the difference between each of these cities. I really enjoyed meeting and interacting with the materials science students from the two universities in Shanghai and Beijing.”

Southern Miss students who participated were Stacy Trey, Micah Black, Ericka Johnson, Lisa Kemp, Jean-Francois Morizur, Misty Rowe, and Paul Wheeler and the faculty were Judy Giordan, Dr. Lon Mathias, Dr. Joshua Otaigbe, and Dr. Doug Wicks.

EPSCoR Women in Science 2005 – Mentoring STEM Majors

Alicyn Rhoades, graduate student in the research group of Prof. Douglas Wicks, was invited to speak at the EPSCoR Women in Science 2005 - Mentoring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Majors conference held at Langston University, Oklahoma City, OK. Alicyn was asked to speak on the success of Southern Miss' innovative EMPS program that is funded by the NSF's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program. She also addressed the events that influenced her academic program selection and the career path. Other speakers at the conference included the NSF program officer responsible for graduate fellowships and STEM faculty from several EPSCoR sponsored universities.

Upcoming Events
International Waterborne High Solids & Powder Coatings Symposium February 22-24, 2006 New Orleans, LA

Short Courses

• Introduction to Coatings Science May 15-18, 2006
• Coatings Science for Coatings Chemists May 15-18, 2006

MRSEC Activities

• REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates)
  May 30 – August 4th, 2006 (Deadline for application – March 10, 2006)
• 4th Annual Scientific & Industrial Advisory Board Meeting
  (Tentative) October 30-31, 2006