Events

CBE Seminar: Designing for Circularity: Recycling Technologies and AI-Driven Plastic Redesign

Speaker: Katrina Knauer

Location: TBA

Date: Friday, October 3, 2025

Location: 6 Metrotech Center

The growing demand for sustainable materials has accelerated interest in bioplastics and recyclable textiles, yet significant challenges remain in closing the loop for polymer-based products. Conventional recycling approaches often struggle with the chemical complexity, contamination, and multilayer structures that define today’s plastic and textile waste streams. This talk will highlight our work in advancing recycling technologies designed to recover value from commodity plastics, bioplastics, and textile-based polymers, with a focus on chemical and catalytic strategies that break down materials into reusable building blocks. In parallel, I will discuss how machine learning and computational modeling can accelerate the redesign of polymers for
circularity, enabling predictive insights into structure–property relationships that guide the development of next-generation, recyclable-by-design plastics. By integrating experimental advances with data-driven approaches, this work aims to redefine how we create, use, and reuse polymeric materials, ultimately moving toward a more circular and sustainable materials economy.