The growing number of plastic bags being introduced to ocean systems is causing marine animals to accidentally consume harmful plastics, eventually leading to gut impaction and death. Regular plastic bags do not degrade and rely on individuals to recycle them to prevent permanent pollution. Current biodegradable plastic bags require industrial composting and are not digestible
Climate change and the overconsumption of plastics are threats to the environment and future generations. Every year, roughly 250,000 tons of wet waste coffee grounds are thrown into landfills, where they decompose and release harmful methane into the atmosphere–further amplifying the effects of climate change. With the 3D printing industry growing so rapidly, our solution
Our goal is to inform people of all ages about GMOs to reduce the negative stigma and give consumers a better understanding of their effects. This will be done through a series of surveys to have an insight into what social media is more effective in educating people on GMOs. This was a way for
The goal of our project was to educate people about the issues that affect the ocean, so we created a website full of useful information and research papers about ocean health. Full Poster: Ocean Health Education Project
As climate change warms the California region during the summer as a result of the greenhouse gas effect, forest fires have become more frequent with each passing year. If atmospheric carbon dioxide could be reduced, so could the rate at which global warming occurs. Fertilizers rich in nitrogen and phosphorous could be used to keep
The Grand Challenge that our group has focused on is the single use plastic waste that has increased as a result of the pandemic. Throughout GCI, we have researched various biodegradable materials that have the potential to replace traditional plastic films. We have made it our goal to create a homemade starch-based biodegradable plastic film
We created a LED light bulb conversion calculator that will provide the user with personalized information about the environmental and financial benefits of switching to LED light bulbs based on their current electricity usage and light bulb types. Full Poster: bil-LED Follow the QR Code to the bil-LED website!
We are pleased to announce our 2nd annual Chapman University Grand Challenges Initiative Outstanding Research Publication Award by a Grand Challenges Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow. The award is supported by alumni of the Grand Challenges Initiative Postdoctoral Teaching and Research Fellows Program. The selection committee, which included Drs. Doug Dechow (chair), Carter Berry (’20), & Cristiano Duarte (’20), evaluated
The excessive disposal of plastics has caused an unfathomable accumulation of plastics in cities, sewage systems, landfills, oceans etc., and is threatening ecosystems and their inhabitants all over the globe. With the absence of a sustainable and environmentally friendly means of properly disposing these plastics, this experiment was geared towards solving this challenge. In this
Working with Wastewater is a 2-4 player educational board game designed for ages 12 and up hosted on Tabletopia. Each player is a wastewater treatment company looking to maximize profits while minimizing the waste produced by treating wastewater. Companies will start with a distinct wastewater treatment facility with different assets. Purchase additional wastewater treatment technologies