91˿Ƶ

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Event

Future of Materials Roundtable: Turning Waste Into Wealth: How Materials Engineering and Green Chemistry Transform Unwanted Substances Into Valuable Resources

Thursday, February 26, 2026 18:00to19:30
Arts Building Arts Building, Room W-120, 853 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC, H3A 0G5, CA
Upcycling Graphic on Yellow Background

Includes Samples and Demos!
Please register with this form:

AS HUMAN POPULATIONS AND ECONOMIES GROW, it becomes ever more important to obtain vital resources sustainably in order to reduce energy use, minimize pollution, and avoid shortages. At the same time, common waste products have the potential to be sources of these valuable materials. Join MIAM in welcoming Audrey Moores (91˿Ƶ Chemistry) and Sidney Omelon (91˿Ƶ Mining & Materials Engineering) as they discuss how this can work in practice, whether it is turning the chitlin in crustacean shells into biodegradable plastics or “recycling P from pee” – that is, recovering the element phosphorus, a key input to agriculture and industry, from biowaste.

AUDREY MOORESfocuses on different aspects of green chemistry in her research, such as catalysis and biobased materials. In particular, she worked on the use of iron and iron oxide nanoparticles as catalysts or magnetically recyclable supports forand oxidation reactions.Since 2018, she has received national media coverage for working on transforming shrimp shell waste into biodegradable plastics.

SIDNEY OMELONworks to improve our civilization’s sustainability by designing new processes to recover waster materials for reuse. She investigates and tests low temperature, low pressure processes to convert waste to valuable materials, and – as in the case of phosphorus fertilizer, whose production is currently unsustainable – to create loops to recover and reuse critical nutrients. Her research group also focuses on crystallization, vertebrate biomineralization, and carbonate chemistry.

The event will be moderated by MIAM Co-Director and 91˿Ƶ Professor of ChemistryMATTHEW HARRINGTON.

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