The "Thermodynamic Miracle" team consisting of KNRTU students (Bogdan Matveev, Alla Suslonova, Alexander Fomin, Danila Grishechkin, Nail Nagmanov) took part in the II International Polymer Hackathon in the discipline of "Chemistry and Physics of Polymers", which was held on January 24-25 in Moscow within the International Specialized Exhibition of Plastics and Rubber RUPLASTICA.

More than 70 students and young scientists representing universities of Russia and Belarus took part in the engineering competition. They had to solve an actual industrial problem on the topic of processing and application of polymers. The choice of the KNRTU team was the development of equipment - helmets, kneepads, elbow pads - for scooter drivers, a popular transportation means within the city these days.

The participating teams also made presentations of their universities and departments. Our contestants were morally supported by the chairs of specialized departments of KNRTU: Chair of the Department of Polymers and Composite Materials Processing Technology Igor Volkov and Chair of the Department of Medical Engineering Ildar Musin.

One of the objectives of the hackathon was to utilize recycled resources in projects.

"We worked out the production technology stage by stage. For the construction elements of our equipment we used foamed secondary PVC to create a shock-absorbing layer, and for the main construction - a composite material: the first, rigid layer made of polyamide mixed with chopped fiberglass - a readily available in Tatarstan production waste, and the second layer made of polyurethane foam," said team captain Bogdan Matveev.

The Polymer Hackathon was sponsored by SIBUR and Irkutsk Oil Company. The KNRTU team was awarded a special prize of the sponsors "for a good team decision": a trip to Irkutsk, during which the students will get acquainted with real production (Irkutsk Oil Refinery) and visit the pearl of Siberia - Lake Baikal.