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.
Recent graduate of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Hannah Bogden, reflects passionately on her two-week kayak expedition from Whittier to Valdez. She was joined by other students and two instructors, with the trip being part of a capstone course for the college鈥檚 outdoor leadership program.
Six students in the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER)鈥檚 outdoor leadership program, and two instructors, completed a 14-day kayak capstone expedition.
For Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation outdoor leadership graduate Frank Schweers, a passion for exploring the outdoors led to new opportunities to help others visualize the outdoors using geographic information system (GIS) technology. Read more.
The Human Performance Lab has a new location with updated equipment. Witness demonstrations of the equipment and testing procedures at an upcoming open house event.
Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation alumna shares her experience of being the first graduate of the Therapeutic Recreation concentration and recently passing her national CTRS exam.