Acknowledgements

I am extremely grateful to my teachers, Mrs. Jill Lloyd and Dr. Permeil Dass, whose support and ideas helped me to circumnavigate the many issues I encountered, provided me with a plethora of materials and equipment, and for allowing me to use their classrooms throughout the last four years.

This work would not have been possible without the support I received last year from Polymer Engineering Professor Donggang Yao at Georgia Tech, who provided me with incredible insight into the polymer synthesis process, who navigated me through the process of finding an alternative ester forming agent, and provided me with recommendations to my formulation, specifically the reduction of water and the use of air-drying the plastic film. I am also incredibly grateful to his graduate student, Junhe Chen, who provided me with invaluable recommendations and assistance, specifically in recommending the removal of vinegar, the use of a heated oven to evaporate excess water, the use of Teflon as a drying surface, and for providing me a small sample of LDPE which I could use in my experiment.