Invited Speakers

Craig Hawker Professor Craig J. Hawker is Clarke Professor and holds the Alan and Ruth Heeger Chair of Interdisciplinary Science at UCSB where he co-directs the California NanoSystems Institute and the Dow Materials Institute. He came to UCSB in 2004 after eleven years as a Research Staff Member at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA. Professor Hawker’s work has led to over 600 peer-reviewed papers and 80 patents with Professor Hawker helping to establish a range of start-up companies including Symyx, Intermolecular, Ilypsa, Relypsa and Olaplex. For his pioneering studies at the interface of polymer synthesis, material science and organic chemistry, Professor Hawker’s honors include the Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success from the American Chemical Society, the Charles Overberger International Prize, the ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry, Arthur C. Cope Scholarship and the Centenary Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Professor Hawker has been honored with election to the Royal Society as well as being named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.   Hawker Research Group
	Katrina Knauer Dr. Kat Knauer is a polymer scientist who is driven by a steadfast commitment to addressing the pressing issue of plastic waste. She earned her BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Florida State University before embarking on an academic journey that culminated in a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Knauer further honed her expertise through an industrial post-doctoral stint with BASF, specializing in plastics recycling. Building upon this experience, she ventured into entrepreneurship with Novoloop Inc., a groundbreaking startup dedicated to chemical recycling of plastic film. In 2021, Dr. Knauer assumed the pivotal role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Concurrently, she serves as an Assistant Adjoint Professor and RASEI Fellow in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Knauer's research endeavors revolve around the development of innovative recycling technologies for existing plastics, as well as the design of intrinsically recyclable-by-design materials for the future.   More about BOTTLE
LaShanda Korley Prof. LaShanda T. J. Korley is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware (UD). Korley is the Director of the Energy Frontier Research Center – Center for Plastics Innovation funded by the Department of Energy and also the Co-Director of the Materials Research Science and Center – UD Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials funded by the National Science Foundation. She also is an Associate Editor for ACS Macro Letters. Her innovative research program utilizes a bioeconomy framework or the nexus of biologically inspired and sustainable principles for the molecular design, manufacture, and valorization of functional polymeric systems, including thermoplastics, networks, composites, and gels. Korley has received several distinguished honors, including 2023 (ACS Fellow, AIChE Fellow, Fellow of RSC, ACS POLY Fellow); 2022 (APS Fellow, ACS PMSE Fellow); 2021 Chemical and Engineering News Black Trailblazer); 2020 AIMBE Fellow, 2012 Kavli Fellow. LaShanda was selected for the 2023 U.S. Science Envoy Cohort by the U.S. State Department. She received a B.S. in both Chemistry & Engineering from Clark Atlanta University as well as a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Korley completed her doctoral studies at MIT in Chemical Engineering and the Program in Polymer Science and Technology, and she was the recipient of the Provost’s Academic Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cornell University. Korley Research Group
	Brett Fors Brett P. Fors was born in Montana and carried out his undergraduate studies in chemistry at Montana State University (2006). He went on to do his Ph.D. (2011) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Professor Stephen L. Buchwald. After his doctoral studies he became an Elings Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara working with Professor Craig J. Hawker. In 2014 he joined the faculty at Cornell University and is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. His group’s research focuses on the development and application of new synthetic methods for polymer science.   Fors Group Website
Jeff Whitlock Phoenix Material Recovery Facility
	Alicia Marseille Alicia Marseille serves as the Senior Director of Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions (RMWSSS). At RMWSSS Alicia leads efforts in developing collaborations with internal and external public, private, and community based partners to advance systemic and entrepreneurial solutions for complex challenges related to sustainability and circular economy. These solutions, or interventions, are holistic and are focused on social, economic, and environmental outcomes.   Key efforts Alicia is co-leading are under the umbrella concept the team has been co-designing, Community Ecological Economic Development (CEED). This concept utilizes the Solutions Development Framework the team co-created that works with internal and external partners to co-design, pilot, and scale solutions. Key solutions that have or are being piloted include but are not limited to: the Circular Living Lab, ASU's Circular Plastic's Microfactory, and the Urban Nature (Urban Forestry Accelerator). CEED strives to create emergent pathways for community and economic development in light of climate change.   More About Alicia

Transitioning out of Graduate School: Early Career Scientists

Charles Rolsky (Shaw Institute) is the Executive Director and Senior Research Scientist at the Shaw Institute in Maine. This institute aims to perform vital research that connects environmental and human health, researching plastics, ocean pollution, marine mammal health, toxic chemicals and more in order to inform the public and ultimately change policy. Charlie received his Ph.D. from ASU through the Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering where he performed research on marine and aquatic plastic pollution. He also hosts a YouTube series Breaking it Down where he aims to inform audiences in a fun and engaging way.

Kyle Arrington (Intel) received his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from Virginia Tech. Upon completing his doctorate, he joined Intel in 2018 where he is now a Materials Engineering Manager for Assembly and Test. Here he has a team of PhDs that focuses on the research and development of innovative direct and indirect materials. Kyle has actively contributed to Intel’s IP with 68 filed patent applications and 9 granted applications and is an industrial advisor for the Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing Institute at Arizona State University. In Kyle’s free time, he enjoys the great outdoors and technology spending his time playing with his dogs, mountain biking, and overclocking his desktop computer.

Yue Yuan (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) is an Alvin M. Weinberg Distinguished Staff Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Dr. Yuan earned her PhD in Fiber and Polymer Science and a graduate minor in Biochemistry from NC State (2021), with research focused on low-energy carbon capture with enzymes, mechanism of enhanced catalytic reactions at liquid–gas–solid interfaces and deuterium-labeling of biopolymers. Prior to that, Yue conducted research at Nanotechnology Innovation Center of Kansas State (NICKS) on manipulating surface wettability at nanoscale, while pursuing her master’s degree in Textile Science. Now she leads research projects on renewable polymeric nanomaterials and enzyme catalyzed polymerization. Before joining ORNL, she was an innovation analyst in chemical and manufacturing sector in RTI international.

Caitlin Sample (Arizona State University) is an assistant professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and the Center for Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing at Arizona State University. An Arizona native, Prof. Sample received a joint S.B. in Materials Science and Applied Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014, where her interest in designing polymeric materials was sparked by the complex functions of natural systems. She developed her synthetic expertise across length-scales, from small-molecule organic semiconductors to 3D-printed polymer networks, as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned her doctorate in materials in 2020 under the supervision of Profs. Craig Hawker and Christopher Bates. Following her graduate work, Prof. Sample was a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Marc Hillmyer at the University of Minnesota.

Synergy between Academia and Industry Towards Creating a Sustainable Future

Craig Hawker (University of California Santa Barbara)- Craig Hawker is Clarke Professor and holds the Alan and Ruth Heeger Chair of Interdisciplinary Science at UCSB where he co-directs the California NanoSystems Institute and the Dow Materials Institute. He came to UCSB in 2004 after eleven years as a Research Staff Member at the IBM Almaden Research Center. Today, he has led 600 peer-reviewed papers and 80 patents on his pioneering studies at the interface of polymer synthesis, material science and organic chemistry, leading to several companies like Olaplex and many other honorable distinctions.

Katrina Knauer (NREL)- Kat Knauer earned her Ph. D. from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2019 after completing the BASF leadership program in 2018. Her passion for sustainable technologies and waste reduction led her to her current position as Chief Technology Officer of the Bio-optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics Out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) consortium at NREL.

LeShanda Korley (University of Delaware)- Prof. LaShanda T. J. Korley is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware (UD). Korley is the Director of the Energy Frontier Research Center – Center for Plastics Innovation funded by the Department of Energy and also the Co-Director of the Materials Research Science and Center – UD Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials funded by the National Science Foundation. She also is an Associate Editor for ACS Macro Letters. Her innovative research program utilizes a bioeconomy framework or the nexus of biologically inspired and sustainable principles for the molecular design, manufacture, and valorization of functional polymeric systems, including thermoplastics, networks, composites, and gels.

Brett Fors (Cornell University)- Brett Fors earned his Ph.D. from MIT in 2011, continuing to Santa Barabara, CA as an Elings Post-doctoral Fellow under Craig Hawker. He then started as a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell where he currently studies sustainable pathways to access various polymers and architectures.