Engineering Education "Today in History" Blog: Nylon first manufactured
by Alice Agogino
closeAuthor: Alice Agogino
Name: Alice Agogino
Email: agogino@berkeley.edu
Site: http://www.me.berkeley.edu/faculty/agogino/
About: Alice M. Agogino is the Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering and is affiliated faculty at the Haas School of Business in their Operations and Information Technology Management Group. Her research interests include: community-based design; sustainable engineering; intelligent learning systems; information retrieval and data mining; multiobjective and strategic product design; nonlinear optimization; probabilistic modeling; intelligent control and manufacturing; sensor validation, fusion and diagnostics; wireless sensor networks; multimedia and computer-aided design; design databases; design theory and methods; MEMS/NEMS synthesis and computer-aided design; artificial intelligence and decision and expert systems; and gender/ethnic equity.
She has served in a number of administrative positions at UC Berkeley, including Chair of the Faculty Senate, Associate Dean of Engineering and Faculty Assistant to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost in Educational Development and Technology. Prof. Agogino also served as Director for Synthesis, an NSF-sponsored coalition of eight universities with the goal of reforming undergraduate engineering education, and continues as PI for the NEEDS (www.needs.org) and SMETE.ORG digital libraries of courseware in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.
Prof. Agogino received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Mexico (1975), M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering (1978) from the University of California at Berkeley and Ph.D. from the Department of Engineering-Economic Systems at Stanford University (1984). Prior to joining the faculty at UC Berkeley, she worked in industry for Dow Chemical, General Electric and SRI International. She has authored over 150 scholarly publications; has won numerous teaching, best paper and research awards; and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). At NAE she served on the Committee on Engineering Education, working on the Technologically Speaking and the Engineer 2020 projects. She is currently a member of the National Research Council's Board on Education and the Women in Academic Science Engineering Committee. She has supervised 66 MS projects/theses, 26 doctoral dissertations and numerous undergraduate researchers.See Authors Posts (122) · December 15th, 2007 · Add a Comment
Today in History – November 15, 1939 – First commercial manufacture of nylon yarn. Wallace Hume Carothers led a team of researchers at DuPont to develop the world’s first totally synthetic fiber. Dupont turned their experimental laboratory in Wilmington, Delaware into a full-fledged industrial process and industry. Before the invention of nylon became a name associated with stockings, DuPont tested prototype machinery on a product called Dr. West’s Miracle-Tuft toothbrushes that had bristles made from nylon. DuPont kept the chemical nature of the new bristles secret during this trial period. The response was positive as consumers liked having a toothbrush that dried out between uses, unlike the old boar’s hair bristle brushes.
During World War II, nylon replaced Japanese silk for parachutes and tents. After World War II nylon and nylon composite products became popular for wind breakers, backpacking gear, lingerie, “wash and wear” clothing, carpeting, fishing line, rope, sails, automobile parts, and strings for musical instruments.
With concerns of global warming, environmental pollution and sustainable engineering, pervasive use of nylon has come under question, with estimates that 10% of the annual increase in atmospheric NOx may come from nylon production. New research in green chemistry and bioplastics emphasizes “developing economically viable products and processes that require fewer reagents, less solvent, and less energy than conventional processes, while being safer, generating less waste, and having a lower environmental impact”. Consumers are leading the way in demanding more environmentally friendly forms of nylon and alternatives.
For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on Dupont and Nylon, as well as global warming, environmental pollution, and green chemistry. For related curricular resources, visit the Chemical Engineering Education or the Environmental Engineering Education disciplinary communities.
Also on this date in 1965, Gemini 6 launched and made first rendezvous in space with Gemini 7.
Tags: BioEngineering and Biomedical Engineering · Chemical, Biochemical, Biomolecular Engineering · Chemistry · Environmental Engineering · Industrial Engineering · Manufacturing Engineering · Materials Engineering
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