On Tuesday, September 13, 2022, our Innovation Institute team joined Massachusetts Lt. Governor Karyn Polito to celebrate the launch of UMass Dartmouth’s new Biodegradability Laboratory, housed at the School for Marine Science & Technology in New Bedford.
The state-of-the-art facility was funded by a $739,936 award from our Collaborative Research and Development Matching Grant program, along with a $450,000 investment from advanced materials leader PrimaLoft, and support from a range of R&D partners including:
- Radical Plastics of Beverly;
- Paramount Planet Product;
- UMass Boston & UMass Lowell;
- The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole;
- Boston-based SeaAhead; and
- The U.S. Army Soldier Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center.
"UMass Dartmouth is a perfect location for this new facility, to build on the university’s strong marine science and engineering focus, coupled with the South Coast’s strong heritage of textile innovation," said Pat Larkin, Deputy Director, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. “Our thanks to the many corporate and research partners on this project, including PrimaLoft, that will power this critically important research partnership.”
In the press release announcing the new facility, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito highlighted the importance of the new lab to scientific research and global sustainability.
"The opening of the new biodegradability lab at UMass Dartmouth is another incredible example of Massachusetts leading the way towards a more sustainable future," said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. "The research conducted and the products developed within the lab will offer industry and academia opportunities for growth."
Congratulations to UMD Chancellor Mark Fuller and Dean Jean VanderGheynst, Dean of the College of Engineering and interim Dean of SMAST on the launch, plus special thanks to PrimaLoft CEO Mike Joyce, a UMD graduate, for the company’s strong support for the project!
(*Photos courtesy of UMass Dartmouth*)
Pat Larkin, Deputy Director, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, Chancellor Mark Fuller, Jean VanderGheynst, Dean of Engineering and interim Dean of SMAST, and Mike Joyce, PrimaLoft CEO and UMass Dartmouth Class of '85, posing in front of a mural outside the new lab.
UMass Dartmouth Assistant Research Professor Micheline Labrie explains the intricacies of the new lab to Lt. Governor Polito.