Dr Auras is an assistant professor in the School of Packaging, MSU, East Lansing, MI, USA. He holds a BSChE from the National University of Misiones, Argentina, a MS in Materials Science and Technology from the National University of San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a Ph.D. in Packaging Science from the School of Packaging, MSU. He teaches courses in materials science, polymers, shelf life, instrumental analysis and packaging and the environment. His research interests include sustainable packaging systems, life cycle assessment, carbon-neutral packaging, packaging waste scenarios, biodegradation and compostability. Other areas of interest in his research are biodegradable polymers, mass and heat transfer phenomenon in polymers, and food product/package compatibility and interaction.
Dr. Auras has authored and coauthored a variety of publications, including peer review articles and chapter books. He reviews project proposal from federal agency such as NSF, USDA, and other organizations and manuscript from more than 24 international peer review journal publications. Dr. Auras has been a Fulbright, CONICET, and AECI fellow. He is member of the executive committee of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, and he is an active member in the polymer, packaging, and food science fields. He has substantial international experience.
Education
2004 Ph.D., Packaging, Michigan State
University
1999 M.Sc., Material Science and Technology,
University of General San Martín, Argentina
1996 B.Sc., Chemical Engineering, National
University of Misiones. Misiones, Argentina
Professional Experience
| Oct 2004- Present |
Assistant Professor, School of Packaging,
Michigan State University |
| June - Oct 2004 |
Post-doctoral Research Associate, School of Packaging,
Michigan State University |
| Aug 2002 - May 2004 |
Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant, School of Packaging,
Michigan State University |
| Jan 2000 - Aug 2002 |
Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant, Fulbright Fellow,
Schoool of Packaging, Michigan State University |
| Jan 1997 - Dec 1999 |
Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant.
CONICET Fellow. National Commission of Science and
Technology. Buenos Aires, Argentina FCEQyN - UNaM. Misiones, Argentina |
| July - Oct 1996 |
Quality Control, Plastic Films Industry, Misiones, Argentina
|
| Feb - June 1996 |
Research Specialist. ARCOR. Food Industry,
Córdoba, Argentina |
| Dec 1992 - Jan 1996 |
Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant. FCEQyN -
UNaM. Misiones, Argentina |
TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
Principles of Packaging, Paper and Metal Packaging.
RESEARCH AREAS OF INTEREST
Food Packaging. Food product/package compatibility and interaction.
Package sustainability.
Mass transfer in polymers. Permeability, diffusion, solubility
and migration.
Biodegradable packaging. Polylactide polymers. Edible and biodegradable
polymers.
Material applications in packaging. Properties of packaging
polymers.
EXPERIENCE
1) Mentored 4 M.Sc. students. Currently supervising 5 M.Sc., 3 Ph.D., 1 Postdoc, 2 visiting faculties.
2) 10 years teaching experience
3) 12 years research experience
Patents
1.1. New Alternatives to Avoid Fungal Growth in Food Systems. E. Almenar, R. Auras, B. Harte, M. Rubino. (Invention Disclosure Number: 06-073; Provisional Patent Application # 60,598-013)
1.2. Fabrication and Characterization of Biodegradable PLA-Zeoloite Composites. S. Selke, R. Auras, I. Yuzay. (Invention Disclosure Number : 07-123)
1.3. Active Packaging Gas Insert. M. Rubino, Muhammad Siddiq, R. Auras, B. Annous, D. Netramai. (Invention Disclosure Number: 07-155)
1.4. b-cyclodextrins as nucleating agents for Polylactide (PLA). E. Almenar, R. Auras, B. Harte, M. Rubino. (Invention Disclosure Number: 08-011; Provisional Patent Application)
1.5. Fabrication and characterization of polymers added with resveratrol, 12/2007. Herlinda Soto Valdez, Rafael Auras, Maria Rubino. (Invention Disclosure Number: 08-030)
Book Chapters
¡¤ Auras, R. ¡°Solubility of Gases and Vapors in Polylactide Polymers.¡± Thermodynamics, Solubility and Environmental Issues. Ed. Trevor Letcher. Elsevier. Ch. 19. 343-368. ISBN-13;9780444527073
¡¤ Kale, G.; Kijchavengkul, T.; Auras, R.; ¡°New trends in assessment of compostability of biodegradable polymeric packages,¡± Environmental Biodegradation Research Trends. Ed. Frank Columbus (in press)
¡¤ Kijchavengkul, T.; Kale, G.; Auras, R.; ¡°Degradation of Biodegradable Packaging Materials in Real and Simulated Conditions,¡± ACS, (Submitted)
Selected Journal Publications
1.1. Kijchavengkul, T.; Auras, R.; ¡°A Perspective of Compostability of biodegradable Polymers under Real and Simulated Conditions¡± Polymer International, Accepted for publication.
1.2. Kijchavengkul, T.; Auras, R.; Rubino, M.; Ngoujio, M.; Fernandez, R. T. ¡°Assessment of Biodegradable Mulch Films. Part II: Laboratory Simulated Conditions,¡± Chemosphere, Accepted for publication, 01/2008
1.3. Kijchavengkul, T.; Auras, R.; Rubino, M.; Ngoujio, M.; Fernandez, R. T. ¡°Assessment of Biodegradable Mulch Films: Part I. Field Study in Tomato Plots. Chemosphere, Accepted for publication, 10/2007
1.4. Kijchavengkul, T.; Auras, R.; Rubino, M.; ¡°Measuring Gel Content of Aromatic Polyesters Using FTIR Spectrophotometry and DSC,¡± Polymer Testing, Available online 11 September 2007, doi:10.1016/j.polymertesting.2007.08.007
1.5. Qin, Y.; Rubino, M.; Auras, R.; Lim, L-T. ¡°Use of a magnetic suspension microbalance to measure organic vapor sorption for evaluation the impact of polymer converting process,¡± Polymer Testing, 2007, Vol 26/8 pp 1082-1089 doi:10.1016/j.polymertesting.2007.07.010
1.6. Kale, G.; Auras, R.; Singh, S. P.; Narayan, R. ¡°Biodegradability of Polylactide Bottles in Real and Simulated Conditions. Polymer Testing, 2007, Vol 26/8 pp 1049-1061 DOI: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2007.07.006
1.7. Almenar, E.; Auras, R.; Rubino, M.; Harte, B. ¡°New Alternatives to Avoid Main Post Harvest Diseases in Berries during Storage. Inclusion complexes B-CD-Hexanal,¡± International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2007, 118 (2) pp 164-172 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2007.07.002
1.8. Almenar, E.; Auras, R.; Wharton, P.; Rubino, M.; Harte, B. ¡°Release of acetaldehyde from ¦Â-cyclodextrins inhibits postharved decay fungi in vitro,¡± Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2007; 55(17); 7205-7212. DOI: 10.1021/jf071603y
1.9. Kale, G.; Kijchavengkul, T.; Auras, R.; Rubino, M.; Selke, S.; S. P. Singh. ¡°An Overview of Compostability of Bioplastic Packaging Materials,¡± Macromolecular Bioscience, 2007, 7, 255 -277. DOI: 10.1002/mabi.200600168
1.10. Kale, G.; Auras, R.; Singh, S. P. ¡°Comparison of the Degradability of Poly (lactide) Packages in Composting and Ambient Exposure Conditions,¡± Packaging Technology & Science, 2007, 20:49-70, DOI: 10.1002/pts.742
1.11. Aithani, D.; Lockhart, H.; Auras, R.; Tanprasert, K. ¡°Predicting the Strongest Peelable Seal for ¡°Easy-Open¡± Packaging Applications,¡± Journal of Plastic Films and Sheeting. 2006, Vol. 22, 4, 247-263, DOI: 10.1177/8756087906071351
1.12. Kijchavengkul, T.; Auras, R.; Rubino, M.; Ngoujio, M.; Fernandez, R. T. ¡°Development of an Automatic Laboratory-Scale Respirometric System to Measure Polymer Biodegradability,¡± Polymer Testing, 25, 2006, 1006-1016. DOI: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2006.06.008
1.13. Auras, R.; Bix, L. ¡°WAKE UP! The Effectiveness of Student Response System in Large Packaging Classes,¡± Packaging Technology & Science, 2006. DOI: 10.1002/pts.753
1.14. Kale, G.; Auras, R.; Singh, S. P. ¡°Degradation of Commercial Biodegradable Packages under Real Composting and Ambient Exposure Conditions,¡± Journal of Polymers and the Environment, 2006, 14 (3) 317-334, DOI: 10.1007/s10924-006-0015-6
1.15. Auras, R.; Singh, S. P.; Singh, J. ¡°Performance Evaluation of PLA against Existing PET and PS Containers,¡± Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 34, (6), 2006, 530-536. DOI: 10.1520/JTE100041
1.16. Aithani, D.; Lockhart, H.; Auras, R.; Tanprasert, K. ¡°Heat Sealing Measurement by an Innovative Technique1,¡± Packaging Technology & Science. 19 (5), 2006, 245-257. DOI: 10.1002/pts.728
1.17. Auras, R.; Harte, B. Selke, S. ¡°Sorption of Ethyl Acetate and d-Limonene in Poly(lactide) polymers,¡± Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 86, 2006, 648-656. DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.2391
1.18. Auras, R.; Singh, P.; Singh, J. ¡°Evaluation of OPLA Polymers with Existing PET and OPS for Fresh Food Service Containers,¡± Packaging Technology & Science, 18, 4, 2005. 207-216. DOI: 10.1002/pts.692
1.19. Auras, R.; Harte, B.; and Selke, S. ¡°An Overview of Polylactides as Packaging Materials,¡± Macromolecular Bioscience,¡± 4, 835-864, 2004. DOI: 10.1002/mabi.200400043
1.20. Auras, R.; Harte, B.; and Selke, S. ¡°Effect of Water on the Oxygen Barrier Properties of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Poly(lactide) Films,¡± Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 92, (3) 1790-1803, 2004. DOI: 10.1002/app.20148
1.21. Auras, R. and Schvezov, C. ¡°Wear Behavior, Microstructure, and Dimensional Stability of As-Cast Zinc-Aluminum/SIC (MMCs) Alloys,¡± Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 35A, 1579-1590, 2004.
1.22. Auras, R.; Harte, B.; Selke, S.; and Hern¨¢ndez, R. ¡°Mechanical, Physical, and Barrier Properties of Poly(lactic acid),¡± Journal of Plastic Films and Sheeting, 19, (2) 123-135, 2003. DOI: 10.1177/8756087903039702
RAFAEL
AURAS, PH.D.