Polyurethane-Grafted Graphene Oxide from Repurposed Foam Mattress Waste

 The second paper from our NSF funded project on polymer up cycling was recently published in RSC Advances! Read more about it here:

Polyurethane-grafted graphene oxide from repurposed foam mattress waste

This paper is part of a collaborative effort funded by the NSF ECO-CBET program, which brings 5 PIs from across disciplines together to address sustainability issues in plastics. Specifically we are studying ways to create value-added composites that have aqueous degradation pathways to mitigate microplastic formation. The team is composed of members from the following groups across campus: Stefanie Sydlik (Chemistry), Daphne Chen (ChemE), Kevin Noonan (Chemistry), Ryan Sullivan (Chemistry/ MechE), and Jerry Wang (CivE).

Early days while the project was still just a dream! Here I'm obtaining a PU mattress sample with lead author, (now) Dr. Walker Vickery, from CMU housing services in Prof. Wang's lab.

Team Sydlik Picture, Winter 2025

After my sabbatical at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer research in Germany in 2024... I'm back! I'm thrilled to be here. While there are definitely some things I miss about Germany, I am so happy to be back working with everyone at CMU. The team started 2025 with a lab cleanup and great energy. It's way too cold to take an outside picture, but it had been over a year so it was time. Here's our Winter 2025 group picture.

Team Sydlik, Winter 2025
Back row (PhD students): Sebastian Guarjardo (3rd year), Jason Orlando (5th year), Max Deng (1st year), Chloe Zimmovets (1st year), Hunter Wood (4th year). Middle (MS and UGs): Chiara Bugamelli (MS), Jacob Nadir (senior), Jennifer De La Torre (senior/ MS), Farin Weinger (sophomore). Front (PhDs in the house!): Dr. Juhi Singh (PD), Prof. Stefanie Sydlik, Dr. Annie Arnold (Special Faculty)