Synthetic biology Manufacturing of Advanced materials Research Center

**Our Mission** **To create a circular economy for high performance bio-derived and biodegradable plastics.** Our team is working to create a circular bioplastic economy that has a lower carbon footprint and exhibits advantageous material properties. Plastic waste represents a grand challenge for society, and time is running out to develop the tools to overcome it. Plastic waste pollutes most of the soil and water on our planet to some degree, with Earth’s oceans on track to contain more plastic than fish by 2050, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. To change this pattern, we must create a circular bioplastic economy to eliminate non-biodegradable plastics from polluting our land and sea. We will design synthetic biological materials (SBMs) or bio-derived polymeric materials, with highly tunable properties produced by microorganisms.