I've been dreaming of this site for several years now. Thanks to a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation, I finally have the funding and time to put it together. I know this will be a long work in progress, but as a mentor of mine once advised, start small, start with anything, and momentum will take over. The purpose of this site is to help people understand the role of polymers and plastics in their daily lives, and help sort out myths and facts about products we use every day. As someone who cares deeply about the environment, and a chemical engineer with fascination with and appreciation for the technological achievements of the past 100 years, I feel it is my responsibility to guide people to correct information about materials and sustainability.

To say our relationship with plastics is "love-hate" is an understatement. Plastics provide food security, life saving medical devices, and light weight transportation, to name a few of their critical roles. However, some of them also contain toxic chemicals and can present problems with trash generation. How does the average consumer deal with these complex issues? Well, getting educated is a start.

You've come to the right place!