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Redesigning Plastics Recycling

Many types of plastics are used in everyday life and recycling them in a practical and sustainable way is challenging for consumers and the plastics industry.  This class will focus on the plastic known as PLA, which is used in the rapidly growing 3-D printing industry.  PLA is derived from plant starches and is more eco-friendly than most other plastics; however, it is a type 7 plastic and as such it is rarely recycled and often ends up in landfills. There, the plastic endures for hundreds of years before decomposing, despite often being advertised as ‘biodegradable’.  In this class, students will apply engineering methods to improve PLA recycling by designing and performing experiments and interpreting results in order to advance the field of plastics recycling and make 3D printing more sustainable. 

Students will learn 

-Engineering design thinking 

-Material science research principles 

-Chemistry of plastics 

-Computer-aided design 

Instructors: Anastasiya Islamova, STEM Teaching Fellow, and Cooper Union student teaching assistants    

Participants: Students in 9th or 10th grade during the 2022-2023 school year. 

Session information: This Three-week program offers two sessions.  Session 1 starts Monday, July 10, 2023.  Session 2 starts Monday, July 31, 2023. Classes meet Monday- Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm.

Prerequisites: none.  

Teaching method: In person. The instructor and teaching assistants will lead students through daily scheduled lectures, discussions, and practice sessions at 41 Cooper Square. Off campus field trips and site visits will also be scheduled. 

Materials: All materials are included.  Students may opt to bring a personal computer. 

Cost: $1950 

Apply now: https://connect.cooper.edu/apply/
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Course Code: STEM23-11

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.