Rethinking Sustainability
Eric Beckman, Distinguished Service Professor, Swanson School of Engineering
In his three decades at Pitt, Beckman has been the center of creating innovative materials and products, from researching to patenting to founding startups. He cofounded the company Cohera Medical, Inc., based on his development of the surgical adhesive TissuGlu, an Edison Awards Gold winner. He cofounded Pitt’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and helped to develop the center’s circular economy program, the first U.S. graduate program to teach designing sustainability into new products to address the challenge of global waste.
“The current linear consumption economy of ‘take, make, waste’ is wholly unsuited for exponential global growth,” says Beckman. “Principles of a circular economy, however, improve efficiency and eliminate waste by designing sustainability into a product, from its base materials and construction to packaging, delivery and life expectancy.” His team aims to alter the chemical structure of polyethylene through nano-engineering to create a recyclable material that maintains conventional plastic’s valuable qualities, such as maintaining freshness by keeping out water and oxygen.
“The current linear consumption economy of ‘take, make, waste’ is wholly unsuited for exponential global growth.”