Kickstart: Plastics repair shattered windows in Ukraine

A Cambridge University student is using polyethylene film, PVC pipe, pipe insulation and duct tape to replace windows damaged by bombs and bullets in Ukraine and improve homes damaged by the ongoing war.

Harry Blakiston Houston, a Ph.D. student at Cambridge, told the BBC that Insulate Ukraine began as a simple way to improve the lives of residents in Ukraine. The pipe and insulation are used to create a frame for four layers of film, which Blakiston Houston says provides better insulation than standard window glass.

While not intended as a permanent replacement, the plastic windows do cover openings in the wall to help keep homes warm while also allowing light inside — unlike plywood.

Insulate Ukraine wants to have a series of production hubs located through Ukraine, giving residents the ability to set up their own production. The group is already working in the city of Izyum to replace 6,000 windows.

Each window takes about 15 minutes and $17 to make.

The global materials supplier created through a joint venture by Lanxess AG and Advent International last year now has a name: Envalior.

The new company, based in Düsseldorf, Germany, supplies more than $4 billion worth of materials from Lanxess' high-performance business unit and DSM's engineering materials business. Boston-based Advent bought the engineering operations from Royal DSM in May 2022, the same day the two companies announced the JV.

"The Envalior name combines 'en' (engaging, enterprising, engineering, environment) and 'valior' (value-driven and value-creating)," PN's Frank Esposito writes.

Calum MacLean, most recently as CEO of British materials firm Synthomer plc, is Envalior's CEO.

I'm a day late for March Madness but Wilson Sporting Goods Co.'s 3D printed "airless" basketball wasn't ready for in-game use either.

Currently there's a singular prototype ball, but it did make an appearance in the NBA's Slam Dunk contest in February. Chicago-based Wilson — which makes the NBA's official game ball — says the 3D lattice ball, printed on EOS equipment, can meet league requirements.

"The 3D printed ball is truly playable, nearly fitting the performance specifications of a regulation basketball, including its weight, size and rebound [bounce]," the company said. "There's still work to do before it's ready for courts around the world."

But industrial design group Core 77 noted that if Wilson can create one, it could make a difference.

"Basketball and soccer are two sports that require minimal infrastructure and gear (as opposed to say, hockey or baseball), and if the pump can be done away with and the ball made affordable, entire generations of underprivileged kids stand to benefit," Core 77 wrote.