At the UGA New Materials Institute, we believe that a material’s useful end-of-life should be considered at the design stage and that Green Engineering principles should be part of this process.
Large-scale manufacturing of petroleum-based plastics began in the 1950s. Fast-forward almost 70 years, and scientists are in the early stages of understanding how plastic particles on the micro- and nano-sized scales are impacting humans, animals, and our planet. Click here to watch a video on “plasticosis.”
In addition to laboratories focused on circularity, did you know the University of Georgia campus is home to a roof top garden that serves as research space for research into urban heat islands? Or that within a few miles from campus there exists a community garden founded and maintained—since 2010—by student workers, interns and volunteers who grow food to feed food-insecure residents?
The University of Georgia New Materials Institute’s (UGA NMI) Circularity Informatics Lab (CIL) has joined the Urban Ocean program as a core partner and program co-lead. Led by Professor Jenna Jambeck, CIL joins founding co-leads The Circulate Initiative and Resilient Cities Network to help steer Urban Ocean’s strategy, implementation, and growth. Launched in 2020 by Ocean Conservancy, The Circulate Initiative, and Resilient Cities Network, Urban Ocean helps cities prevent plastic pollution and strengthen circular systems.
Three members of the University of Georgia New Materials Institute faculty received honors at the 2026 UGA Research Awards, held annually during Honors Week.
An all-women sailing crew led by eXXpedition is undertaking a global study to map ocean plastic pollution to its sources on land. Their research—to be collected by 10 crews over 10 legs in 5 ocean basins, through 2027— will be guided by the Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP) developed by Jenna Jambeck, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia, and by scientists in Jambeck’s Circularity Informatics Lab (CIL), which is serving as the Science & Research Lead for the upcoming voyages.
In addition to being a colorant, indigo is an effective nucleating agent for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate), or PHB-co-HHx, and at significantly lower loads than orotic acid, according to a study from the Locklin Group at the University of Georgia New Materials Institute.
Student Profile: Taylor Theobald
Taylor Theobald recently began her master’s degree program in mechanical engineering under the mentorship of Kenan Song, PhD, an associate professor in the UGA College of Engineering who is faculty member in the UGA New Materials Institute. Song’s Advanced Materials Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory (AMAML), where Theobald conducts her research, focuses on creating advanced materials and manufacturing processes that are sustainable and renewable.
Congratulations to Kenan Song on being one of eight faculty members from the University of Georgia to receive funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to support postdoctoral training in the natural sciences.
Dr. Branson W. Ritchie, co-director of the UGA New Materials Institute and director of the Infectious Diseases Laboratory, is one of six researchers from the University of Georgia to be inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in recognition of his innovations and success in commercializing his discoveries.
By 2040, the cost to U.S. taxpayers for managing plastic municipal solid waste is projected to surge by 30% to $37 billion per year, according to a new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts that includes input from waste management experts in the University of Georgia New Materials Institute.
