Most of the "stuff" around us - from circuit boards to sports gear, from aerospace parts to automobile parts - is made of fiber composites, and most of it comes from petroleum.   Sustainable?  Not by a long shot - non-renewable and non-recyclable, it all ends up in landfills eventually.

It's a big problem; but Cornell professor Anil Netravali has a solution.  Over the last 15 years, he's developed high-strength lightweight composites that are made from biodegradable, annually renewable sources such as soy proteins, jute, flax, and hemp.  These composites can look and act like anything from fabric to steel to Kevlar, and can be used for everything from automobile interiors and product casings to furniture and cabinets, shelving, doors, and building materials.  And they compost completely - within a few months!

On January 26th, come hear Professor Netravali talk about the greening of the economy, and learn how a soybean can become an office chair, and an office chair can become compost.

Read this article from a recent Ithaca Journal about how e2e is bringing Anil's research to the green building market.

About the Speaker:

Prof. Anil N. Netravali received his Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from North Carolina State University in 1984.  He came to Cornell University as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.  In 1985 he became a Research Associate in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.  In 1987 he joined the Dept. of Fiber Science & Apparel Design as an Assistant Professor of Fiber Science, and was promoted to Professor in 1999.

Professor Netravali has worked with companies like Nissan to encourage them to use greener materials; and through his partnership with Cornell spin-off e2e Materials, the materials he's developed have been used by leading office furniture designer Herman Miller and Ithaca-based Comet Skateboards.  And e2e is poised to expand into the green building market.