Circular Plastics, Plastic Recycling and Deconstruction, Bioplastics, Life Cycle Assessments

Dr. Kat Knauer is a polymer scientist who has dedicated her scientific career to solving the plastic waste problem. She has a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi and completed the BASF Ph.D. Leadership Development Program (LDP) in 2018 before taking a Senior Scientist role in BASF’s Plastics Division. Her research efforts focused on advanced recycling technologies, which ultimately led her to lead Materials Innovation R&D at Novoloop, a chemical recycling startup. Recently, Dr. Knauer joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium, where she is developing sustainable technologies to chemically upcycle today’s existing plastic waste streams and develop new plastics for the future that are recyclable by design.  Contact Katrina.