(297c) Innovating across the Life Cycle of Macromolecular Materials

Natural materials, such as spider silk, wood, and seed pods, are excellent models for the engineering of polymeric materials that respond to complex and interacting environments, that exhibit controlled and modular mechanical behavior under low energy conditions and with a limited set of chemical building blocks, and that are designed for life cycle management. Motivated by the critical need to transition from a dependence on petroleum feedstocks, I also highlight the utilization of biomass building blocks with diverse functionality in the development of performance-advantaged macromolecular materials with exceptional mechanical function and thermal properties. To tackle the global problem of plastics pollution, I also will overview deconstruction and upgrading strategies to re-imagine plastics waste as a valuable feedstock. Collectively, these vignettes offer a framework that provides insight into the interplay of macromolecular design, molecular engineering, and robust manufacturing.