The problem of plastic waste in the oceans is severe and growing. Researchers are attempting to develop ways to create environmentally friendly ways to degrade and recycle these materials by using enzyme engineering, but most of them require large energy inputs.

PhD student Colin Pierce (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics) is working on a project to engineer the common bacterium Escherichia coli so that it will grow on and degrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a widely used plastic. The project uses several computational and informatics tools.

Some funding for this project was provided by a 2021 University of Minnesota Informatics Institute MnDRIVE PhD Graduate Assistantship. The UMII MnDRIVE Graduate Assistantship program supports U of M PhD candidates pursuing research at the intersection of informatics and any of the five MnDRIVE areas:

  • Robotics, Sensors and Advanced Manufacturing
  • Global Food Ventures
  • Advancing Industry, Conserving Our Environment
  • Discoveries and Treatments for Brain Conditions
  • Cancer Clinical Trials

This project is part of the Advancing Industry, Conserving Our Environment MnDRIVE area.

Research Computing partners:

  • University of Minnesota Informatics Institute (funding)
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