Sustainable Nanotechnology: Bio-Inspired, Nature-Derived, and Non-Toxic Nanomaterials for Agri-Food Applications and Beyond

Glass Globe Ball with tree growing and green nature blur background

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Ocean Engineering

Location: ABS 301

Speaker: Philip Demokritou, Henry Rutgers Chair and Professor in Nanoscience and Environmental Bioengineering, School of Public Health & School of Engineering, Rutgers University

ABSTRACT

The rapid expansion of nanotechnology is a powerful scientific and economic force. However, how we balance the potential benefits of advanced nanomaterials with the potential environmental health and safety (EHS) hazards from such emerging materials and products remains a challenge. Sustainable nanotechnology is an emerging field of interdisciplinary research that focuses on the development of “green” and nontoxic nanomaterials and technologies that can be used to tackle major societal challenges in various fields and applications. This seminar will present highlights from current sustainable nanotechnology research projects in the agriculture and food domain in the Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Center. Projects include among others: the development of green, nano-carrier platforms for targeted precision delivery of nature-derived antimicrobials for food safety applications using engineered water nanostructures (EWNS); the development of biodegradable nontoxic, nano-modulating platforms for biomedical applications; development of biodegradable smart food packaging and nano fertilizers using natured-derived biopolymers

BIOGRAPHY

Portrait of Philip Demokritou

Dr. Demokritou’s fundamental research focuses on understanding how nanoparticles interact with biological and environmental systems. His pioneer research on particle health effects sheds light on how the physicochemical and morphological properties and structure of both environmental nanoparticles and engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) define their bioactivity and their impact on human health. His nanoscience research focuses on addressing major environmental and public health challenges of the 21st century in food safety and security, agrichemical delivery, airborne infectious diseases, obesity, climate change, and sustainability. Dr. Demokritou is the founding Director of two interdisciplinary research Centers at Harvard University: 1) Harvard-NIEHS Nanosafety Research Center and; 2) Center for Nanotechnology and Nanotoxicology. He is also the founding Program Director of the Harvard-Nanyang Technological University/Singapore Sustainable Nanotechnology Initiative (2016-2022). He served as PI, co-PI, or co-investigator on several grants funded by NIH, EPA, NIOSH, NSF, USDA/NIFA, CPSC, and EU research framework (FP7). He holds more than a dozen international/US patents and inventions and is a co-founder of DIETRICS. He is a co-author of two books, numerous book chapters, and more than 230 articles in leading journals in nanoscience, particle health effects, and aerosol engineering fields. Before joining Rutgers in 2021, he was a Professor at TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University for 25 years. He is also a founding co-editor in chief of NanoImpact (Elsevier).