UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Amar Kamat, a doctoral candidate in engineering science and mechanics at Penn State, has been selected for the Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) professional program.
Sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service, the RISE program gives science and engineering students from the United States and Canada a unique opportunity to gain practical, career-building experience working in a German company for the summer.
Kamat will work at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen, Germany, from May to August on a project titled "Modeling of Polyurethane (PU) Polymerization Processes."
His proposal is part of a bigger project, "Modeling of Morphology Development of Micro- and Nano Structures," a collaboration between several European universities and BASF SE.
The ultimate goal is to form a multi-scale modeling framework that describes the manufacturing processes of complex materials, polyurethane being the test case.
Kamat explained, "Polyurethane foams find applications in everyday life, such as insulation materials, cushions, shoes, golf balls, car parts (springs, bumpers) and so on. This multi-scale model will describe how the properties of the final product depend upon the material structure at each length scale, all the way from the atomic scale to the macro-scale."
In a broad sense, said Kamat, the project has the potential to produce several positive outcomes, such as development of an open-source software suite that will furnish a detailed understanding of complex material behavior at all length scales, making production processes more efficient and eventually leading to better and cheaper consumer products.
He noted, "I look forward to working on this project in a world-class company such as BASF SE and to implementing what I have learned at Penn State through my coursework in an industry setting."
Kamat will also get an opportunity to meet fellow RISE program participants at a conference in Heidelberg in July.
Outside of the program, he plans to explore Europe over the course of the summer. "I am excited about immersing myself in a new culture. I'm even considering taking a German class while I'm there."