Sustainability

The Plastic Degradation project identifies microbes from natural sources that have a low-level ability to degrade multiple types of plastic. In the laboratory, with the help of synthetic biology, those microbes then are evolved into much more effective plastic-eating microbes that, in the future, could be globally deployed to decompose plastic waste.

Our eco-friendly air conditioning technology is a low-carbon-footprint evaporative cooling system that reduces indoor air temperature without adding humidity.

Origami-inspired Radiant Cooling devices for a broad range of building interiors use microfluidic water-circuits and foldable designs that increase their surface area to achieve more effective cooling.

Circe is a platform technology that uses engineered microbes to produce valuable, biodegradable synthetic polymers from greenhouse gases, minimizing the environmental impact of manufacturing. Potential applications include biodegradable plastics and packaging, energy-efficient agriculture, clean personal care products, and more.

The genetic material DNA has garnered considerable interest as a medium for digital information storage because its density and durability are superior to those of existing silicon-based storage media. For example, DNA is at least 1000-fold more dense than the most compact solid-state hard drive and at least 300-fold more durable than the most stable...

Globally, more than 2 billion people are forced to use a drinking water source that is contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens, and an estimated 502,000 people die each year from diarrhea as a result of unsafe water. While a majority of the world has access to improved water sources, many are often contaminated;...

In the U.S. alone, commercial and residential buildings account for more than 40 percent of the total energy consumption – mostly for lighting. What’s more, the deep building layouts that are typical in the U.S. have led to a complete reliance on artificial lighting systems that are less desirable than natural daylight. Many of the...

Humans have produced roughly 8,300 million metric tons of plastic since the 1950s, the vast majority of which has been thrown out as waste. Only about 9% of that plastic waste has been recycled and 12% has been incinerated, leaving 79% of it to accumulate on our land and oceans, harming the environment, the food...

Just like pores in living organisms that control the absorption and excretion of fluids, gases and solids in response to their environments, flow-gating membranes have proved very useful for many mechanical systems, such as gas and liquid separators, dialysis machines, or open heart bypass pumps. But conventional approaches to create synthetic “gated pores” within those...