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Plastics
Category:
Chemical
Examples:
The outside casing of your Game Boy Advanced, your hockey helmet and the sole of your running shoes are all made from plastics.
Plastics engineers:
- Design special soles for high performance athletic shoes, like the ones which Cathy freeman wore when she won the 200m at the 2000 Olympics
- Figure out how to shape and mold plastics for car and other vehicle bodies
- Design new plastics which won't become brittle in really cold weather.
In your community:
Plastic is one of the most common materials in everyday life. Like all materials it has specific properties and uses. By playing with the chemical composition of plastics, scientists and engineers are able to change the properties of plastics and create new uses for them. Would this kind of knowledge be helpful in your community? Probably.
As a plastics engineer you could work with local artists to develop new materials they could use in their work. You could also look at community needs in terms of infrastructure. Plastic piping is great for sewage and water treatment, but is difficult to use in some areas because of soil conditions or climate - maybe you could be the person to bring this infrastructure to your town.
Aptitude:
If you like...
- Being creative
- Problem solving
- Inventing new things
- Making discoveries
- Helping people
- Protecting the environment
...you might enjoy Plastics Engineering.
Universities:
If you want to study Plastics Engineering you can go to the following university: