Plastic insulation like Styrofoam is commonplace in seafood packaging and buildings.
But plastics never completely disappear, instead they break up into ever smaller particles
or microplastic. These tiny particles are harmful to the soils, marine environment
and wildlife, and may affect human health.
Researchers with the Biomaterials Lab seek to better understand the effects of these
stray plastic bits. The team is working to solve the global plastic pollution problem
by developing insulation that is recyclable, reusable, and biodegradable. Researchers
combine design-thinking, microbiology, and physics to dream-up scalable biological
materials that store carbon and provide a sustainable vital barrier from the elements.
Their key ingredients to de-carbonizing industries include beetle-kill spruce trees
and renewable cellulose that is literally grown in a lab. The Biomaterials Lab is an active innovation platform for new bio-based
materials and circular bio-economy solutions in the Circumpolar North. The lab uses
norm-critical design thinking as a framework to tackle some of the most pressing environmental
and public health problems facing the Arctic today.
Social work master’s student Jay Greene (pronouns: they/them, he/him) believes in system reform through policy, as evidenced in their work with UAA’s LGBTQIA2S+ Committee and Gender Inclusive Housing Committee. Greene was a recipient of the Student Diversity Scholarship.
In December and January, UAA’s Alaska Airlines Center (AAC) became a focal point for two critical COVID-19 mitigation efforts. In the same time frame, several UAA faculty, staff and students contributed to a report on the effects of Anchorage’s COVID-19 emergency orders. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announced on Dec. 9 that the AAC had been established as the state-run infusion center for two new monoclonal antibody therapies that can reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections.