Dr. João Maia
 Plastics Extrusion Specialist
Dr. João Manuel Luis Lopes Maia
​


EDUCATION 
BEng in Technological Physics Engineering,
Lisbon Technical University (1987 - 1992)

PhD in Applied Mathematics,
University of Wales Aberystwyrth (1992 - 1996)

Aggregation in Polymer Science and Engineering,
University of Minho, Portugal (2007)


HONORS & AWARDS 
  • International Activities Award of the Case School of Engineering, CRWU (2015)
  • Morand Lambla Award of the Polymer Processing Society (2011)
  • Annual Award of the British Society of Rheology (2010)
  • Fulbright Fellowship, Fulbright Foundation and FLAD (2007)
  • PhD Fellowship, Portuguese Science and Education Ministry (1992 - 1996)
  • I.N.I.C. Research Fellowship for Outstanding Undergraduate Students (1990 - 1992)


AREAS OF WORK 
  • Polymer rheology, with a special focus on extensional rheology and rheometry;
  • Multi-scale modeling of complex systems under flow using machine learning-based methods;
  • Polymer blending and compounding, and reactive processing;
  • Processing of multi-layered polymeric materials;
  • On- and in-line monitoring extrusion-based processes.

PUBLICATIONS
More than 570 total scientific and technical works, including 170 scientific papers in international refereed journals, 7 scientific book chapters, 15 patents and more than 370 communications to scientific conferences of which 51 Plenary/Keynote/Invited. More than 5,000 citations.

MOST RELEVANT PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
  • Principal Investigator of 21 federally funded R&D projects with total funding more than $8,200,000.
  • Principal Investigator of 37 industrially funded R&D projects with total funding more than $6,000,000.
  • Local Organizer of the 2014 Continuous Compounding TOPCON of the SPE Conference, held in Cleveland, USA, March 2014.
  • Organizer and Co-Chairman of the XVIth International Congress on Rheology, held in Lisbon, Portugal, in August 2012. The ICR congresses are the most important Rheology meetings in the world.
  • Organizer and Co-Chairman of PPS-30 - Annual Conference of the Polymer Processing Society, held in
  • Cleveland, USA, June 2014. These are the main international Polymer Processing conferences.
  • Organizer of AERC 2003 - 1st Annual European Rheology Conference, held in Guimarães, Portugal, September 2003. These are the main Rheology conferences in Europe.
  • Director of CWRU’s CAPP – Center for Advanced Polymer Processing, a state-of-the-art, mixing, compounding and reactive extrusion facility spawning from a joint venture between CWRU and various polymer companies.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ACTIVITIES

Professional Societies
  • The Society of Rheology, SoR.
  • European Society of Rheology, ESR.
  • British Society of Rheology, BSR.
  • Portuguese Society of Rheology, SPR. 
  • Polymer Processing Society, PPS.
  • University of Wales Institute of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, UWINNFM. Associate Member.
  • Society of Plastics Engineers, SPE.
  • American Physical Society, APS

Consulting
Has provided technical and legal expert consulting services for over 25 years to more than 30 companies in the areas of:
  • Polymer Melt and Polymer Solution Rheology
  • Rheology of Suspensions and Dispersions
  • Polymer Blending and Compounding
  • Reactive Extrusion
  • Ceramics and Paste Extrusion
  • Single and Twin-screw Extrusion
  • Extrusion Die Design
  • Injection Molding
  • Film, Sheet, Tube, Pipe and Profile extrusion
  • Co-Extruded and Laminate Structures
  • Thermoforming
  • Blow Molding
  • Polymeric Coatings and Paints
  • Asphalt Rheology
  • Food Extrusion and Rheology