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 | Biography |  |
Assoc Prof Rowan Truss's research interests are in: Natural polymers from sustainable sources, natural fibre composites, polymer nano-composites, Service performance of polymers, deformation and failure mechanisms in polymers, processing/structure/property relationships in polymers. After obtaining a BSc (Hons) and a PhD from the University of Queensland, Assoc. Prof Rowan Truss undertook postdoctoral research in the Department of Macromolecular Science at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, US and in the Department of Physics at the University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. He then spent a period in industry working for ICI Australia on performance and product development of bulk commodity polymers and advanced ceramics. He joined the academic staff of the University of Queensland in 1990 where he teaches engineering materials and polymers.
His early research was on deformation mechanisms, yield and fracture of polymers and he has a continuing interest in service performance and failure analysis of polymer products. Over the last 10 years, Dr Truss has been involved with processing and properties of bio-sourced polymers such as starch and poly hydroxybutyrate and more recently on the use of natural fibres for composites. His emphasis is on understanding processing/structure/property relationships in polymers and composites to be able to control and predict performance of polymer articles in service.
Assoc Prof Truss undertakes his research both independently and through the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers and the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures.
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