Plastic products are the combination of their polymer, additives, and form. As polymers are being reimagined for biodegradability, recyclability, and valorization, the additives used in products made from these materials must also be reimagined. We use principles of polymer science, biological engineering, and environmental science to design new plastic additives.

Plastic degradation and toxicity are properties that underly much of the concern about plastics. We use flow-through seawater mesocosm experiments for measuring environentally-relevant biodegradation rates of plastics and zebrafish bioassays for assessing toxicological impacts of plastics, micro/nanoplastics, and plastic-associated chemicals.

Policymakers, product designers, and consumers decide which plastics make it on the market, into our lives, and consequently those that leak into the environent. Missing are data-informed tools that reflect the lifecycle, system-level impacts of plastics. We generate robust datasets and develop tools for evaluating the tradeoffs underlying design decisions related to plastics.

Plastics are ubiquitous materials. We design plastics for their postive interactions with society, wildlife, and the environment. Our focus on plastics ranges from consumer products to aquaculture to habitat restoration.