Taylor Uekert

2nd year student in Chemistry and NanoDTC

Did you know that 150 million tons of plastic are thrown away every year? This represents not only a severe environmental hazard, but also a waste of valuable resources. My research addresses this growing plastic challenge via a catalytic method for transforming waste into hydrogen fuel. Despite the simplicity of the process – it only requires plastic, water, a photocatalyst and the energy in sunlight to make hydrogen – it is still an emerging, lab-scale technology. I am working on optimizing and up-scaling this process so that we can help turn plastic waste into useful products in a sustainable and economic way.

The photo shows the award being collected on behalf of Taylor Uekert.