Climate, Energy & Sustainability

Carson Bruns explores nanotech that turns plastic into fertilizer with RIO seed grant

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:03:15 +0000

Carson Bruns explores nanotech that turns plastic into fertilizer with RIO seed grant Daniel Corbin … Wed, 06/11/2025 - 14:03

This article was published at colorado.edu/atlas

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Plastics are a problem. They are made with petroleum, are rarely recycled, and turn into microplastics over time—an increasingly intractable global environmental and health concern.

Current bio-based alternatives have yet to see widespread adoption for a number of reasons. Carson Bruns, associate professor (ATLAS Institute, Mechanical Engineering), aims to change all that with a new line of research in his Emergent Nanotechnology Lab focused on turning agricultural materials into bio-based plastics that can be more easily recycled, composted or even used as fertilizer.

Bruns was recently awarded a 2025 Research & Innovation Seed Grant from ��ϳԹ�’s Research and Innovation Office for this work.

The ATLAS Institute—Plastics are an increasingly intractable global environmental and health concern, and bio-based alternatives have yet to see widespread adoption. Carson Bruns aims to change all that with a new line of research focused on turning agricultural materials into bio-based plastics that can be more easily recycled, composted or even used as fertilizer.

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University of Colorado ranks among Top 20 U.S. universities for granted patents

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Thu, 08 May 2025 17:11:40 +0000

University of Colorado ranks among Top 20 U.S. universities for granted patents Daniel Corbin … Thu, 05/08/2025 - 11:11

CU Connections—The University of Colorado has secured the No. 18 position on the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 2024 Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents list, reinforcing CU’s standing as a national leader in research, innovation and real-world impact. At ��ϳԹ�, 53% of the campus’s patents have been licensed commercially.

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New technology turns waste heat into electricity, defies physical limit

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 19:51:59 +0000

New technology turns waste heat into electricity, defies physical limit Daniel Corbin … Mon, 02/17/2025 - 12:51

��ϳԹ� College of Engineering and Applied Science—A team of engineers and material scientists in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at ��ϳԹ� has developed a new technology to turn thermal radiation into electricity in a way that literally teases the basic law of thermal physics.

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Wil Srubar’s lab is full of living materials

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 20:59:14 +0000

Wil Srubar’s lab is full of living materials Daniel Corbin … Mon, 02/03/2025 - 13:59

Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN)—A structural engineer, Wil Srubar (��ϳԹ� Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering) recruits biologists, chemists, physicists, materials scientists, and a host of engineers to his lab, where they design biomimetic building materials.

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PAGE Technologies among 24 small businesses receiving a total of $2.4M to develop innovative environmental technologies

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 21:55:25 +0000

PAGE Technologies among 24 small businesses receiving a total of $2.4M to develop innovative environmental technologies Daniel Corbin … Mon, 01/13/2025 - 14:55

U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—“EPA congratulates PAGE Technologies on receiving this grant award,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. “The company’s development of low-cost, handheld printable sensors for water quality monitoring will deliver an innovative, new tool for safeguarding water quality and public health."

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Venture Partners annual report highlights a record year for innovation

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:06:32 +0000

Venture Partners annual report highlights a record year for innovation Daniel Corbin … Thu, 01/09/2025 - 06:06

FY 2023-24 was another tremendous year for innovation and entrepreneurship at the CU. University researchers, inventors and creators began working with Venture Partners at ��ϳԹ� to advance 144 breakthrough innovations, and 36 CU startups were launched through Venture Partners based on campus discoveries.

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Mallinda launches Vitrimax VHM resin for complete composites recyclability

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 19:03:03 +0000

Mallinda launches Vitrimax VHM resin for complete composites recyclability Daniel Corbin … Fri, 01/03/2025 - 12:03

Composites World—Mallinda Inc., a ��ϳԹ� spinout and global developer of vitrimer resin systems, announces the commercial launch of Vitrimax versatile hot melt (VHM) resin, a vitrimer-based composite resin system. According to the company, this technology combines the optimal mechanical properties of thermosets with the processing flexibility of thermoplastics, while enabling economic recyclability and reuse for high-performance composites.

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Innovative Wind Turbine Control Earns Lucy Pao Prestigious IEEE Award

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 19:46:42 +0000

Innovative Wind Turbine Control Earns Lucy Pao Prestigious IEEE Award Daniel Corbin … Thu, 12/19/2024 - 12:46

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute—Model Predictive Control (MPC) is an established control technique that is popular in the general control systems community. The MPC approach could have significant impacts on how wind turbines are controlled, not only improving their efficiency, but also reducing structural stress on the turbines and extending their lifetimes.

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Sionic Energy uses advanced material to fully displace graphite for a fully silicon battery with increased energy density

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 19:59:44 +0000

Sionic Energy uses advanced material to fully displace graphite for a fully silicon battery with increased energy density Daniel Corbin … Tue, 12/10/2024 - 12:59

PR Newswire—Sionic Energy, a ��ϳԹ� spinout and a recognized leader in electrolyte and silicon battery technology for next-generation lithium-ion batteries, announced that the world's lithium-ion battery producers no longer have to rely on graphite. Designed for seamless integration into existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing processes, Sionic's Silicon Battery Platform maximizes silicon material performance with regard to energy density, extended cycle life, and rapid charge rates.

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CU Engineering advances innovation through startup success

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 18:37:51 +0000

CU Engineering advances innovation through startup success Daniel Corbin … Mon, 12/02/2024 - 11:37

��ϳԹ� College of Engineering & Applied Science—The College of Engineering and Applied Science continues to establish itself as a leader in innovation, with 22 startups emerging from its research labs in the past fiscal year. This achievement reflects the college's commitment to translating transformative research into solutions that address real-world challenges.

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Climate, Energy & Sustainability

Carson Bruns explores nanotech that turns plastic into fertilizer with RIO seed grant

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University of Colorado ranks among Top 20 U.S. universities for granted patents

Off

​New technology turns waste heat into electricity, defies physical limit

Off

Wil Srubar’s lab is full of living materials

Off

PAGE Technologies among 24 small businesses receiving a total of $2.4M to develop innovative environmental technologies

Off

Venture Partners annual report highlights a record year for innovation

Off

Mallinda launches Vitrimax VHM resin for complete composites recyclability

Off

Innovative Wind Turbine Control Earns Lucy Pao Prestigious IEEE Award

Off

Sionic Energy uses advanced material to fully displace graphite for a fully silicon battery with increased energy density

Off

CU Engineering advances innovation through startup success

Off

New technology turns waste heat into electricity, defies physical limit