Dr. Arum Han, Texas Instruments Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, was honored with the Regional Solid Waste Management Award for Environmental Education and Outreach by the Brazos Valley Council of Governments (BVCOG) for his innovative plastic waste biodegradation strategy. He began working on this strategy last year as part of a new project he is leading, funded by the National Science Foundation's Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program.
This award is presented annually to an individual who supports and demonstrates education and outreach activities in environmental stewardship, a broad interest for the BVCOG Solid Waste Management Program, which is funded by a grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
For this project, Han is trying to integrate the areas of synthetic biology and microfluidics by developing and utilizing high-throughput microfluidic devices. This would enable him to screen millions of individual strains/variants from microbial libraries to identify the most efficient microbes that can degrade and reutilize plastic. He is also committed to providing opportunities for students to receive hands-on experiences in the lab to promote next-generation biotechnology and learn its use for broad societal benefit.
It was great to see that our local citizens are very interested in the research and educational activities we do here at Texas A&M, and it gives me even stronger motivation to make significant and lasting contributions to our society.
Han is a Texas A&M Chancellor’s Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship (EDGES) Fellow and a Texas A&M Presidential Impact Fellow. He also holds courtesy joint appointments in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He is a graduate faculty member of the Texas A&M Health Science Center, faculty of the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience and faculty of Texas A&M’s toxicology program. He currently also serves as the editor-in-chief for the journal Biomedical Microdevices. His research interests center on solving grand challenge problems in the broad areas of health, biotechnology, sustainable energy and synthetic biology through the use of micro/nano systems technology.
Han was presented the Regional Solid Waste Management Award for Environmental Education and Outreach at the Brazos Valley Council of Governments’ annual meeting on Sept. 14.
“It was great to see that our local citizens are very interested in the research and educational activities we do here at Texas A&M, and it gives me even stronger motivation to make significant and lasting contributions to our society,” Han said. “It was truly a great honor to be recognized for what we do here.”