FAQs: Ask A Plastics Expert
What types of materials are included in the scope of your services?
As a plastics expert, Bicerano & Associates has expertise in a wide range of polymers and composites, including the following:
- Thermoplastics
- Thermosets
- Rubbers/elastomers
- Gels
- Blends
- Foams
- Conventional composites
- Nanocomposites containing "fillers" dispersed in polymers
- Polymers derived from fossil fuel-based raw materials
- Bio-based polymers
- Commodity polymers
- Specialty polymers
- Amorphous polymer
- Molten polymers
- Liquid crystalline polymers
- Semi-crystalline polymers
Do you have solutions for my industry?
Yes, if you are involved in any of the following. This is not an all-inclusive list but covers the industries that most commonly seek our services:
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Biomedical
- Composites
- Construction
- Consumer packaged goods (gas barrier, liquid barrier, etc.)
- Controlled release of pharmaceutical ingredients, agricultural ingredients, or flavors
- Cosmetics
- Cushioning
- Electrical
- Electronic
- Environmental, mechanical and structural engineering
- Graphic arts
- Marine
- Oil and natural gas exploration and production
- Optical
- Separation membrane
- Sporting goods
- Textiles
What are the company’s areas of expertise?
Bicerano & Associates has a special strength and international reputation in the understanding and prediction of formulation-structure-processing-morphology-property-performance relationships in polymers (thermoplastics, thermosets, and rubbers/elastomers); and in their blends, foams, films, coatings, and composites; and of the practical product and process implications of these complex relationships.
This expertise is based on a deep understanding of the fundamental physics of materials so that it is not limited to specific classes of polymers but instead is capable of addressing problems over the full range of industrial polymers. Some of the major applications of this expertise in current consulting practice involve working with clients to help them develop new or improved products as well as manufacturing processes, and to help meet their material testing and characterization needs cost-effectively by ensuring that the most appropriate tests are performed and the maximum amount of valuable information is extracted from the results. We have expertise in:
- Polymers
- Composites
- Environmentally sustainable polymer and composite product development, use, and disposal
- Materials modeling and simulation
- Technology assessment
- Technical project management
- Technical writing and editing
- Software development
What are the parameters for working with Bicerano & Associates?
Consulting services are provided on an hourly or daily basis. We also do research on a contract basis, with mutually agreed milestones and deliverables. A contract research project may last from one week to years, depending on the magnitude and complexity of the challenge. Another option, which may be appropriate for some projects, is a retainer with a fixed monthly payment by the client. In general, all of these are work-for-hire arrangements. Other business arrangements are also available, such as a joint development agreement.
How can we protect our development ideas or secrets?
We pledge to always maintain the strict confidentiality of any proprietary information provided to us by our clients. We will also be happy to sign a formal secrecy agreement with a client if requested.
What makes Bicerano & Associates a plastics expert?
The firm’s founder and president, Dr. Jozef Bicerano, worked in corporate research and development for the Dow Chemical Company from 1986 to 2004. His career there culminated in the senior technical leadership rank of Scientist. His work there was recognized with many internal rewards. He previously was a Senior Research Scientist at Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., Troy, Michigan. Bicerano was a postdoctoral research associate in Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley from 1981 to 1982, and a reserve officer on active duty in the Turkish Air Force from 1979 to 1981. He earned a Ph.D. in Physics (with emphasis on Chemical Physics) from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1979; and B.A. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry (combined honors program) from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, in 1974.
Bicerano is best known for his book, “Prediction of Polymer Properties,” and for the commercial SYNTHIA software program that implements the new predictive techniques described in this book. He is a Fellow (elected in 1996) of the American Physical Society, and a member of the American Chemical Society and the Society of Plastics Engineers. He has served as a member of a standards-developing body, the ASME PCC-2 Subcommittee (American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Post Construction Committee, subgroup on non-metallic repairs of pressure equipment and piping). He has also served as a member on the editorial board of three scientific journals (Journal of Macromolecular Science - Polymer Reviews, Computational and Theoretical Polymer Science, and Soft Materials).