Carter spends summer at U of A doing science research and making graphene infused plastic to be 3D printed

Photo submitted. Public speaking and making a final presentation of his lab work at the end of the summer was part of Garrett Carter’s studies to be trained as an effective science communicator during the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

by Alex Wuethrich
awuethri@vols.utk.edu

Graphene and 3D printers, a sheet of carbon one atom thick, are popular among scientific researchers, who are constantly finding new ways to use these technologies. University of Alabama, Huntsville, student Garrett Carter worked this summer to combine them in order to make a graphene-infused plastic that can be 3D printed.

After finishing his junior year, Garrett spent this summer doing advanced chemistry research as a member of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. UTK’s Chemistry Department runs the competitive ten-week program through a grant from the National Science Foundation.

The program’s primary goal is to give exceptional undergraduates hands-on experience in a lab setting. The program exposes them to the many facets of the professional world of research, providing an opportunity to work with established scientists and hear from experts about contemporary breakthroughs in chemistry research. Through a partnership with UTK’s Writing Center, the students are also trained in effective science communication, attending lectures on writing and public speaking, and making a final presentation of their lab work at the end of the summer.

He worked under the guidance of faculty mentor Dr. Mark Dadmun and his team of graduate students. This approach simulates graduate-level research, aiming to enhance the REU students’ knowledge and confidence and help them advance in their scientific careers.

Garrett primarily worked with polylactic acid (PLA), a type of biodegradable plastic often used in 3D printers. The problem is the plastic begins to cool immediately after the printer extrudes it, and if it cools too quickly it breaks much more easily, as the layers do not stick together very well.

He hopes to increase the strength of the printer part by mixing the PLA with small amounts of graphene before printing. Since graphene is an excellent conductor of heat, the idea is that it will more evenly distribute the heat as the PLA is extruded, making the end product more resilient.

In a world dominated by plastics, creating a strong, 3D-printable, and biodegradable plastic has limitless potential. By making PLA stronger in a relatively cheap way, the environmentally friendly plastic could become more widely used than less friendly plastics. Also, graphene-infused plastic could be resilient enough for use in such applications as defense technology or energy generation.

As a student of chemical and materials engineering, Garrett enjoys “making things work,” and his research this summer provided him exactly that opportunity. He also has experience working in industry at KOWA, a nickel plating factory that works with Toyota engines. The factory he worked in uses a chemical process, rather than the more common electrical process, to coat engine parts in nickel for added strength and corrosion resistance.

Garrett is confident that he wants to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering and appreciates the research aspect of the REU program. Compared to working in the nickel plating factory, the academic setting and site visit to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) offered a distinctly different experience of the chemistry field, helping to inform his plans for the future.

Since he enjoys working at the cutting edge of chemical engineering research, he’s particularly fond of historical projects like the Manhattan Project or the recent discovery of new elements, and his dream job would be to conduct research of that magnitude, maybe working for the Y-12 National Security Complex.

He says he’s thankful to God for the rewarding opportunities he’s been given. And as a man of the southeast, having been raised in Kentucky and schooled in Alabama, he spends most of his free time outdoors. You might find him hiking, bass fishing, turkey hunting, or just driving around with the windows down to appreciate the scenery.

Garrett’s engineering oriented mind combined with his kind and patient temperament will make him a valuable asset to any future projects lucky enough to have him.

Garrett is the son of Anthony and Marcia Carter of Corbin, KY.