Sedimentology of plastics: state of the art and future directions

Dr João Pinto da Costa, University of Aveiro, Portugal

João Pinto da Costa is an Assistant Researcher at Department of Chemistry and CESAM, at the University of Aveiro (Portugal). Presently, his research focuses on the development of strategies for the adequate assessment of the prevalence of emerging contaminants, namely, (micro)plastics, as well as their fate and behavior in the environment. He is also particularly interested in bio-based approaches for the mitigation of plastic contamination (biodegradation of microplastics).

João graduated in Biotechnological Engineering from the University of the Algarve (UAlg, Portugal), and, soon thereafter, successfully completed his Masters Degree in Medical Diagnostics at Cranfield University (UK). In 2014, he obtained his PhD in Environmental Chemistry, from UAlg. 
João was also a Fullbright Fellow, under the framework of the INOV Contacto Program, in 2006, during which he worked at a biotech-based drug discovery company in California (US). 

In recent years, João has had the opportunity to develop research activities in a wide field of areas, including Proteomics, Nanotechnology, Bioremediation, Food Technology and Biosensing Applications. Currently, João is the author or co-author of over 75 publications, with an h-index of 35. 

Dr Kryss Waldschläger, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Dr Waldschläger studied civil engineering at RWTH Aachen University in Germany and their interest in microplastics was sparked during their MSc thesis, in which they modelled marine microplastic transport influenced by a functional architecture. During this process, they realised that we still know far too little about the fundamental transport processes of microplastics, which are important basics to understand the distribution and accumulation of microplastics in the environment and to take measures to reduce environmental plastic pollution. They therefore decided to do a PhD on this topic, in which they compared the behaviour of microplastics in the fluvial environment with theoretical calculations from classical sediment transport using physical model experiments. The transport process was divided into resuspension, sedimentation and rising as well as infiltration into the river bed. Special attention was paid to the effects of microplastic particle properties such as density, diameter and shape on the transport mechanisms. After finishing their PhD in December 2020, they were appointed as an assistant professor for fluid mechanics at the Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands where they continue their work on the transport of microplastics in the aquatic environment. Together with their research group, they are focusing in particular on the vertical distribution of microplastics in the water column and the influence of turbulence, biofouling and particle aggregation of microplastics and sediments on the transport behaviour. Dr Waldschläger enjoys interdisciplinary discussions and projects, which they believe are indispensable when tackling the plastic pollution of our environment.

Dr Janika Reineccius, Leibniz-Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), Germany

Janika Reineccius is a PostDoc at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research in Warnemünde, Germany (IOW). She received her Bachelor of Science at the HS Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Germany, in 2016, where she worked in the environmental analytics lab. After her bachelor's thesis, she moved to the German coast and studied chemistry at the University of Rostock. Here, she completed her master's thesis and started her PhD at the Department of Marine Chemistry at the IOW in 2019. In her PhD, she focused on microplastic detection methods for marine samples, long-term observations of microplastics in the marine environment, and weathering processes of microplastics in the aquatic environment. She finally finished her PhD in May 2023. Motivated to raise awareness of the problem of severe microplastic pollution in the oceans, she has already published four peer-reviewed first-authored papers and mentored young scientists with two completed bachelor's and one master's thesis.

Dr Florian Pohl, University of Plymouth, UK

Florian Pohl is an early-career researcher studying the transport of plastics in sedimentary environments in order to predict potential accumulation points and associated ecological risks. He graduated in Earth Science at the University of Bonn in 2014 and received his PhD from Utrecht University in 2019. In his PhD, Dr Pohl combined flume experiments with outcrop studies to investigate sediment transport processes in deep marine environments. In following postdocs at Utrecht University and Durham University, Dr Pohl tested in flume experiments how submarine gravity flows transport and bury microplastics and investigated in a field study the dispersal of microplastics in a natural canyon system on the deep seafloor. In 2021, Florian Pohl joined the International Marine Litter Research Unit at University of Plymouth to study the transport and accumulation of tyre wear particles in nearshore environments.

Dr Josh Worch, Virginia Tech, USA

Joshua C Worch PhD, joined the Department of Chemistry at Virginia Tech (USA) as an Assistant Professor of Polymer Chemistry in January 2023. The Worch Lab seeks to develop sustainable polymers with a holistic approach, encompassing synthesis and application to end-of-life while integrating green chemistry concepts. They are particularly interested in creating intrinsically recyclable polymers from renewable sources that feature programmable functionality and lifetime. Other research interests include the molecular recycling of legacy plastics and sustainable additive manufacturing. Worch completed his post-graduate training at Carnegie Mellon University (USA), where he developed organic semiconducting materials with Professor Kevin Noonan. He then moved across the Atlantic to the University of Warwick where he was awarded a Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate stereocontrolled click step-growth polymerizations alongside Professor Andrew Dove. The Dove group moved to the University of Birmingham in 2018, and Josh was promoted to Group Leader there in 2020 before joining Virginia Tech.

Dr Chelsea Rochman, University of Toronto, Canada

Chelsea Rochman is an Assistant Professor in Ecology at the University of Toronto, co-founder of the U of T Trash Team, and a scientific advisor to Ocean Conservancy. Chelsea received her PhD in Ecology from a joint program between University of California, Davis and San Diego State University in 2013. She then was a Smith Postdoctoral Fellow in Conservation Biology. She was hired as an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 2016. Chelsea has been researching the sources, sinks and ecological implications of plastic debris in marine and freshwater habitats for more than a decade. She has published dozens of scientific papers in respected journals and has led international working groups about plastic pollution. In recognition of her impact, Chelsea Rochman is a recipient of the Sloan Fellowship and was the 2021 winner of the Carolyn Tuohy Impact on Public Policy Award, a University of Toronto Award of Excellence. Chelsea Rochman routinely provides testimony on Parliament Hill and is a scientific advisor to the United Nations, G7, and European Union.