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PRODID:Faculty of Science and Engineering - Research
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SUMMARY:RSC Prize Lecture: Dr Florence Huynh - Rising Star in Industry Prize
DESCRIPTION;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE: As vice president of innovations at Polymateria, Florence leads a team working on biotransformation technology, an innovative solution to tackle plastic pollution on land before it reaches the oceans. This is a solution for the most highly polluted forms of plastic in the world, which ensures polyolefins will fully and swiftly biodegrade in the natural environment in two years, leaving behind no microplastics or toxic substances, as well as being compatible with recycling. The technology is aimed at limiting the harm of plastic that ends up outside the waste management stream and escapes into nature.=0D=0A=
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Title: Transforming Persistent Polyolefins into Biodegradable Materials =0D=0A=
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Abstract: This talk will present evidence that polyolefins can completely biodegrade and mineralise under environmentally relevant conditions. Polyolefins such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are among the most widely produced plastics yet remain persistent in the environment. Trying to solve this issue has led us to create a masterbatch formulation designed to integrate with these materials and change the outcome. Beyond biodegradation testing through CO₂ measurements, metagenomic DNA analysis of post-incubation soils revealed striking shifts in microbial metabolic activity, including enrichment of fatty acid degradation pathways that were absent in conventional polymer controls, providing unique genomic-level evidence of genuine polymer assimilation. Ecotoxicological testing confirmed no adverse effects across soil and aquatic organisms throughout the (bio)degradation process. Together, these findings challenge the assumption that polyolefin persistence is inevitable and offer a pragmatic and scalable solution to address plastic pollution in regions where waste collection systems are still evolving.=0D=0A=
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Biography:=0D=0A=
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Dr Florence Huynh is an enthusiastic French scientist with an interdisciplinary background spanning chemistry, biology and engineering – paired with a keen sense of real-world application and business impact. Her journey in science began early, joining science clubs at age 11 and later being part of the Science ac', an outreach programme founded by Francois Taddei for high school students in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.=0D=0A=
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Florence graduated from the INP-ENSIACET engineering school in Toulouse and spent a year in Germany with a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service and worked at Bayer. She went on to complete a PhD focused on chemoenzymatic synthesis of sesquiterpenes, developing expertise at the chemistry–biology interface at Cardiff University.=0D=0A=
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Florence brings this scientific depth into the business world through her work at Polymateria, where she leads a team developing biodegradable plastics as vice president of innovations. Her current research interests include carbon sequestration of biodegradable materials, biodegradation and ecotoxicity of new materials, and microplastic formation and fate in the environment, but if you were to have a discussion with her you probably would hear her say that there is no such thing as a boring topic – only unexplored angles!=0D=0A=
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LOCATION:David Sizer LT
DTSTART:20260520T140000
DTEND:20260520T153000
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