Seminar by Prof. Leonardo Simon

Leonardo Simon is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and a member of three research institutes: Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research and Institute for Polymer Research.

His research focuses on polymer nanocomposites, sustainable materials, thermoplastic composites, polymer materials for advanced manufacturing, and innovation. His research laboratory is equipped for the synthesis and processing of polymers and nanocomposites, as well as for the study of their structure and properties.

Professor Simon is also a principal investigator for Ontario's BioCar initiative, which involves transforming agricultural products into sources of polymers in order to develop plastics that can be used in the manufacture of automotive parts. His role is to study the use of natural fibers and other renewable raw materials for the manufacture of plastic products. Thanks to Ontario's BioCar initiative, straw fibers grown in Ontario have been used in the manufacture of plastics for automotive applications. This new technology began to be applied to Ford vehicles assembled at the Oakville plant in 2010.

His research has been recognized with several awards:

• 2005 - Early Research Award (MRI-ON)
• 2006 - Young Canadian Innovator Award (OMAFRA)
• 2007 - Best Paper Award at the SPE-ACCE Conference
• 2009 - Canada's Top 40 Under 40 (Caldwell Partners International)