Projects
Projects
Our work rests at the interface of chemistry, materials science, and curriculum design. The lab focuses on developing safer and more sustainable soft material solutions from renewable non-food biomass and waste resources. Using green chemistry metrics and circular principles it is possible to develop soft materials and quantify their many impacts on the environment.
Waste Valorization: Upgrading Biomass into Functional Materials
Abundant renewable non-food biomass can serve as a feedstock of diverse chemicals for everyday products. By tapping into lipids from oils and aromatics from lignins materials may be created following green chemistry principles.
Translation: we turn food, agricultural, and industrial waste into ingredients and materials for consumer products.
Our research is motivated by the abundance of renewable biomass that can be sourced from waste. Using green chemistry principles to guide the valorization of waste biomass the next generation of materials can be biobased and help prevent waste from reaching landfills.
Designing Functional Soft Materials
Mixtures of molecules from biomass offer material scientists reagents that can create biomimetic biodegradable soft materials. Gels, plastics, and foams are semi-solid architectures that can be tailored to offer control over the phase of matter so that your liquids only spill when you want.
From these ingredients we develop waste-derived versions of consumer products such as soaps, inks, dyes, that function like whats on the market.
Open-Access Educational Resources
In partnership with organizations such as Beyond Benign and the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute, ongoing work looks at bringing systems thinking activities into the classroom and developing digital resources for chemists and non-chemists alike focusing on toxicology. One focus is using life cycle assessment techniques to evaluate the design of chemicals and materials.
Along with Beyond Benign, we helped create a free set of modules for chemists and scientists to introduce toxicology and alternatives assessments at the high school and college levels.
Modules I use in my courses: Download the materials today!
Module 2 – Understanding Hazard and Risk - Environmental Science
Module 12 – Case Studies, ChemToxTidbits, “Grab Bag” Folder
