Recycler plans Pensacola operation

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Pennsylvania-based stainless steel scrap recycler Cronimet Corp. plans to locate a manufacturing facility in Pensacola in early November, creating 15 manufacturing and administrative jobs. Cronimet recovers and reprocesses stainless steel and high-grade alloys for manufacturers, including the aerospace industry. The announcement was made by Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Hizer and chamber Chairman Collier Merrill. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 09/01/11)

USM plans new polymer degree

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of Southern Mississippi hopes to get approval for a new undergraduate degree program in polymer sciences engineering. Southern Mississippi President Martha Saunders said that if the state college board signs off on the program, USM will have the only polymer engineering major in the state. The engineering program proposal will go before the state college board for approval in November. Southern Miss' School of Polymers and High Performance Materials currently offers graduate degrees in polymer science and engineering as well as undergraduate polymer science degree without the engineering aspect. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 08/28/11)

USM researchers develop oil spill fix

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Three University of Southern Mississippi professors and a team of 10 students have come up with an experimental substance to help clean up an oil spill. The substance is renewable and non-toxic and made from plants. The two key ingredients are cellulose and soy lecithin. An important attribute is the dispersed oil won’t stick to anything. The research is paid for by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, including the Accelerating Innovative Research grant designed to push the project to the early stages of commercialization within a year. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 08/22/11)

Contract: Bath Iron Works, $110.8M

The Navy awarded Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, a $110.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract for long-lead construction for DDG 1001, procurement of long-lead-time material for DDG 1002 and engineering, production and support services. The original contract for the Zumwalt class was awarded in February 2008. Work encompassed by this modification is expected to be completed by October 2011. (Sources: DoD, 08/04/11, General Dynamics via PRNewswire, 08/05/11) Gulf Coast note: Ingalls Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport, Miss., is building the composite deckhouses and hangars for the DDG 1000 ships.

Sub set for Gulfport commissioning

GULFPORT, Miss. - The Virginia-class attack submarine USS Mississippi will be commissioned in the Gulfport Small Craft Harbor in May 2012, according to Mayor George Schloegel. He made the announcement Tuesday at a meeting of the Gulfport Business Club. The Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in Groton, Conn., is the prime contractor for the 377-foot-long USS Mississippi (SSN-782). (Source: Sun Herald, 08/02/11) Note: Seemann Composites of Gulfport provided key composite parts for the nuclear-powered Virginia-class sub. Background story

GE Aviation to open plant

GE Aviation, which will be opening a plant in Ellisville to make composite parts for aircraft engines, will work closely with the University of Southern Mississippi on high performance materials for aircraft engines. GE Aviation is investing $56 million in the 300,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to begin production in 2013 and create about 250 jobs by 2016. GE Aviation also opened a plant in Batesville in 2008. (Sources: Multiple, 07/27/11)

ONR schools teachers in STEM camp

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Gulf Coast-area science and math teachers are learning new lessons and recharging their professional enthusiasm at Office of Naval Research-funded five-day summer camps that wraps up July 15. Organized by the Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center detachment in conjunction with the ASM Materials Education Foundation, the program trains middle and high school teachers in physics and materials science, electronic engineering, chemistry and polymer science. The Navy's goals are to inspire teachers and students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, raise ONR and NRL's profiles with Gulf Coast-area residents and inform them about the cutting-edge work being done at SSC. Long term, the objective is to grow and sustain the current naval STEM workforce, which will lose a multitude of workers to retirement in the coming years. (Source: Office of Naval Research, 07/11/11)

USM working on cancer-fighting polymer

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - University of Southern Mississippi scientists are working on a technique to fight cancer that involves a polymers so tiny they can be absorbed by cancerous cells in order to stop them in their tracks. "They get the cancer cells to basically kill themselves," said Southern Miss Polymer Science Professor Charles McCormick. Aiding McCormick is an team of about 10 graduate, post-grad and undergrad polymer science students called the McCormick Research Group. The group is now working with researchers at the University of Alabama Birmingham's Comprehensive Cancer Center. They began collaborating this year. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 06/24/11)

Exports, STEM highlight Mississippi ranking

Among the states, Mississippi ranks No. 5 for export growth, according to the Enterprising States 2011 study just released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Mississippi is also ranked 10th in cost of living, 11th in per capita income growth and higher education efficiency, and 12th in productivity growth and business birth rate. Mississippi is also ranked 20th in science, technology, engineering and math job growth as well as 20th in entrepreneurial activity. (Source: Tcp, 06/23/11) Study: U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Wellman plant being sold

DAK Americas LLC of Charlotte, N.C., announced Thursday an agreement to buy the polyethylene terephthalate resin business of Wellman Inc. for $185 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2011 pending regulatory approval. The acquisition includes the PET resin production facilities in Bay St. Louis, Miss. The site has 165 employees and a production capacity of 950 million pounds a year of PET resin. (Source: Sun Herald, 06/16/11)

DuPont to increase production

The DuPont Co. said it will expand its global titanium dioxide production by about 350,000 metric tons to help meet increasing demand for the widely used pigment. The expansion announced Wednesday includes a new production line at the company's Altamira, Mexico, site, and improvements at other production facilities around the world, including the DeLisle plant in South Mississippi. DeLisle manager Marc Holman said his plant is in the permitting process with the state Department of Environmental Quality to increase capacity next year and that the company is making a “significant investment” at the site. (Source: Sun Herald, 05/11/11)

Material self-repairs with light

A team of researchers in the United States and Switzerland has developed a polymer-based material that can heal itself with the help of a widely used type of lighting. Called "metallo-supramolecular polymers," the material is capable of becoming a supple liquid that fills crevasses and gaps left by scrapes and scuffs when placed under ultraviolet light for less than a minute and then resolidifying. The team involves researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, the Adolphe Merkle Institute of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, and the Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. (Source: National Science Foundation, 04/21/11) Gulf Coast note: The University of Southern Mississippi is known nationally for its advanced materials research.

BASF to cut 250 jobs

MOBILE, Ala. - BASF SE will cut 250 of the 700 employees and contractors at its McIntosh chemical plant over the next two years as the German firm tries to lower costs to compete with new plants in Asia. The employee reductions at the Washington County plant could happen through layoffs, retirements, buyouts or attrition. The plant makes a variety of chemicals used to enhance plastics, lubricants, coatings, paper and laundry detergent. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 02/16/11)

Chevron announces expansion

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Chevron's Pascagoula Refinery will begin construction of a $1.4 billion lubricants manufacturing facility at the refinery, officials said today. The project will generate about 1,000 job over the next two years of construction and about 20 permanent positions for the project. The plant would produce 25,000 barrels a day of oil that would be used in the manufacturing of high-performance lubricants, such as motor oils, for consumer and commercial use. (Source: Sun Herald, 01/31/11)

Polymer possibilities discussed

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Students from eight high school polymer programs were on hand for the second annual High School Polymer Science Day at the University of Southern Mississippi's Shelby Thames Polymer Science Research Center. The day is designed to pique the interest of students in careers in materials science. Mississippi is investing in materials businesses such as GE Aviation and solar panel-maker Stion, and the nation is making a larger commitment to science and technology. USM polymer science professor Jeffrey Wiggins called it a "perfect storm" that provides great job opportunities in the materials science field. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 01/29/11)

Plant to expand, add workers

FOLEY, Ala. - Nylon maker Ascend Performance Materials of Foley plans a $7 million expansion that will create 20 jobs. The company, which has about 70 workers, will install a new extruder to double nylon production. Ascend's nylon is used by the auto, electrical and electronic, apparel, carpet industries and others. The company also operates a large plant in Pensacola, Fla. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/25/11)

Accelerator gets new tenant

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Bracco Diagnostics, headquartered in Milan, Italy, is the newest tenant in the University of Southern Mississippi’s incubator, The Accelerator. Bracco's Healthcare Protective Products Division in Hattiesburg will manufacture a lotion that neutralizes chemical warfare agents. The lotion is already used by the Department of Defense and most NATO militaries. Bracco plans to initially hire 10 people to operate the new facility. First production of the lotion is targeted for this summer. (Source: University of Southern Mississippi, 01/18/11)

Polymer science competition set

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - High school students from Mississippi will gather at the University of Southern Mississippi later this month for the second annual Polymer Science High School competition. It’s Jan. 28 at the Polymer Science Research Center at the Hattiesburg campus. The competition is designed to encourage interest in careers in science. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 01/16/11)

Materials focus of NOVA series

Materials innovations drive civilization and inspire scientific breakthroughs, and it's that notion that motivated the television series NOVA to take viewers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the world of materials. In a new four-part series, "Making Stuff: Stronger, Smaller, Cleaner, Smarter," New York Times technology reporter David Pogue travels the globe to examine the latest advancements in materials research and to find out what the future might hold in this field. The series airs on four consecutive Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 19. (Source: National Science Foundation, 01/13/11) Gulf Coast note: The University of Southern Mississippi is internationally known for its advanced materials research.

Solar panel company moving in

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Stion, a company that makes thin film solar panels, announced Tuesday that it's locating a mass production facility in the former Sunbeam appliance factory in the Forrest County Industrial Park. It's the first phase of a company investment of $500 million and will create 1,000 jobs over the next six years. The company will use about 300,000 square feet of the facility to produce panels for residential and commercial use. Stion now produces them at a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing and research and development facility in San Jose, Calif., where the company is headquartered. One reason Hattiesburg was chosen is the presence of the University of Southern Mississippi's advanced materials research. The state's contribution is a $75 million incentives package. (Sources: Gov. Haley Barbour, 01/04/10, Hattiesburg American, Mississippi Press, 01/05/11)