News & Events

Jambeck named Regents’ Professor

Jenna Jambeck has been named a Regents’ Professor in recognition of the national and international reach of her work in environmental engineering. Regents’ professorships are bestowed by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and are the highest professorial recognition in the... Read more →

UGA New Materials Institute to conduct 5 CB2 projects in 2023

Researchers and students from the University of Georgia New Materials Institute will participate in five sustainably-related projects funded by the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, or CB2, for 2023. The projects were selected by CB2’s Industry Advisory Board at its fall meeting held in November... Read more →

UGA’s Jenna Jambeck awarded MacArthur grant

Jenna Jambeck, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Georgia, was named a 2022 MacArthur Fellow on Wednesday (Oct. 12) for her work investigating the scale of plastic pollution and galvanizing efforts to address plastic waste. Commonly known as “Genius Grants,”... Read more →

Message in a (Plastic) Bottle

Jenna Jambeck was enjoying family time on Memorial Day when she received a surprising message. It was a call from a fisherman who had found something that he thought belonged to her: a plastic bottle. She had rigged it with a tracking device and dropped... Read more →

UGA scientists find eco-friendly way to dye blue jeans

Researchers from the University of Georgia developed a new indigo dyeing technology that’s kinder on the planet. The new technique reduces water usage and eliminates the toxic chemicals that make the dyeing process so environmentally damaging. And to top it off, the technology streamlines the... Read more →

PHA-based microbeads biologically degrade in wastewater treatment facilities

Technology developed by the UGA New Materials Institute Manufacturers of single-use personal care items—like body washes, toothpastes, cosmetics and wipes—that have historically contained environmentally-persistent abrasives can utilize a new drop-in technology with confidence that the new materials will biologically degrade in wastewater conditions, resulting in... Read more →

New composite material has potential for medical use

University of Georgia researchers have developed a new material with properties ideal for medical products such as masks and bandages. It’s also better for the environment than the materials in current use. Using nonwoven fabrics—fabrics produced by bonding fiber without weaving or knitting—the team led by... Read more →

Students and Industry Partnering for the Planet: When Waste Leads to Good Business (from VentureWell’s blog)

Examples of innovative collaborations took center stage at a recent VentureWell virtualOPEN conference session on supporting sustainable design and addressing environmental issues. Attendees heard from Crystal Leach, director of Industry Collaboration at the University of Georgia’s New Materials Institute (NMI); Faculty Grants recipient, Chad Kennedy, a lecturer in the... Read more →

New Materials Institute pioneering replacements for plastic

For Evan White, growing up outside Atlanta meant witnessing significant changes in his landscape. His hometown of Lilburn, Georgia, tripled its population between 1980 and 2000, and White watched as nearby woods became neighborhoods and parking lots. He saw trash, much of it plastic, accumulate in... Read more →

UGA-led projects for NSF-funded CB2 ‘on track’ for 2020

Two research projects that are being led by University of Georgia New Materials Institute received positive feedback at the spring meeting of the Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (CB2), a National Science Foundation Industry—University Cooperative Research Center. The projects, “Unlocking the... Read more →

Designing products for a better outcome following a useful life

Representatives from Shaw recently interviewed Jason Locklin, director of the UGA New Materials Institute, about the Institute’s research partnerships with industry and why the Institute focuses on single-use packaging as a means to reduce the mismanaged plastic waste that is accumulating in our environment. The... Read more →

Jambeck named Distinguished Professor in Environmental Engineering

Jenna Jambeck, who directs the Center for Circular Materials Management within the UGA New Materials Institute, has been named the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Environmental Engineering. Jambeck is internationally recognized for her work to raise awareness about plastic pollution and to reduce mismanaged... Read more →

UGA New Materials Institute to lead 2 projects for NSF-funded CB2

The UGA New Materials Institute will lead two projects selected for funding and research in 2020, as part of the Institute’s participation in the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (CB2), a National Science Foundation Industry—University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC). The projects are among nine selected... Read more →

UGA New Materials Institute is a finalist for economic development awards

The New Materials Institute, a component of the UGA Office of Research with roots in the College of Engineering, along with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, both units of UGA Public Service and Outreach, are among 24 finalists for the University Economic Development Association 2019 Awards... Read more →

New Materials Institute hosts I/UCRC CB2 meeting

The UGA New Materials Institute recently hosted the biannual Industry Advisory Board meeting for the National Science Foundation Industry & University Cooperative Research Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, known as CB2. UGA joined the I/UCRC in 2018 and is one of four universities that serve... Read more →

Jambeck to co-lead National Geographic’s Ganges expedition

University of Georgia College of Engineering researcher Jenna Jambeck will help lead an international, all-female expedition team that will study plastic pollution in one of the world’s most iconic waterways — the Ganges River (known locally as Ganga and Padma). The “Sea to Source: Ganges”... Read more →

Bromethalin is poisoning the parrots of Telegraph Hill

Bromethalin, a common rat poison, is the agent responsible for a neurological disease that has sickened or killed birds from a popular flock of naturalized parrots that reside primarily in the Telegraph Hill area in north San Francisco, according to a new study led by the... Read more →

Walmart Foundation grant aimed at reducing plastic waste

An $800,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to the University of Georgia New Materials Institute will help researchers understand how multilayer plastic packaging biodegrades and also help manufacturers in their attempts to design and select more sustainable materials. The research funded by the grant will seek to yield... Read more →

Royal statistic of 2018: 90.5% of plastic not recycled

A finding from University of Georgia research has been named the 2018 International Statistic of the Year by the Royal Statistical Society. CNN International interviewed the College of Engineering’s Jenna Jambeck, who worked with colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the Sea... Read more →

More than 9 billion tons of plastic… and growing!

UGA Researcher Jenna Jambeck says that we need to know how much worldwide plastic waste there is before we can create a plan to tackle the problem. This is exactly what Jamback and her colleagues have done in there recent article in journal Science Advances.... Read more →

Skidaway researchers track plastic fibers in coastal food chain

At UGA’s Skidaway Institute researchers are looking for plastics in the coastal environment and they are finding them almost everywhere, but not in the form they expected. Instead of finding tiny chunks of plastic they’re finding microscopic threads, or microfibers. Read More form the Savannah Morning... Read more →

NMI Information Summit

The New Materials Information Summit will take place on February 14 beginning at 9:00 am at the UGA Special Collections Library. This event is open to UGA Faculty and Staff who are interested in new and advanced materials research. Please attend and discover UGA’s commitment... Read more →

AFFOA Day: Fabric Revolution

About 90 leaders from the fabric and textile industry, along with researchers and military officials, discussed the future of fabrics and textiles in the digital era during AFFOA Industry Day at the University of Georgia Oct. 20. Read more →

Researchers present new technique of nanofiber production

UGA researchers in the Nanostructured Materials Laboratory have proposed a faster, more efficient and scalable method of production of nanofibers that may have implications on tissue engineering, nonwoven textiles for personal care and biosensors. When coupled with stem cells, nanofibers, tiny threads of polymers, have the ability to help form bones, tissues and nerve cells. Read more →