Credit: N. Hanancek, J. Wang, B. Hayes/NIST
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $500,000 to each of five universities to develop new curricula for students who are interested in helping to solve the growing problem of plastic waste. The new curricula will focus on chemistry, economics, business management, entrepreneurship and related topics.
The Training for Improving Plastics Circularity (TIPC) Grant Program aims to develop the future workforce needed to grow a circular economy for plastics. A circular economy is one in which materials retain their value through repeated reuse, repair and recycling, and are finally discarded only as a last resort.
A circular economy requires new manufacturing methods, chemical processes and separation capabilities, as well as new approaches for optimizing how plastics cycle through the industrial supply chain.
“We need a skilled workforce that can think holistically about plastics and create new business opportunities while also addressing an urgent environmental problem,” said Kathryn Beers, leader of NIST’s Circular Economy Program. “The five institutions receiving TIPC grants take different approaches, but all are creating innovative programs that focus on this important issue.”
NIST’s Circular Economy Program aims to support U.S. industry in implementing changes that prolong the useful life of plastics. Among other things, NIST scientists are developing measurements, models and data to better understand the chemical processes at work when used plastics are broken down and formed into new products.
The following universities will each receive $500,000 from the NIST TIPC Grant Program to be spent over three years:
Arizona State Un ..
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