Ashlee A. Jahnke, Ph.D. and Karen L. Wooley, Ph.D. - co-founders
Dr. Jahnke received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Texas A&M University in 2007 and her Ph.D. in Polymers and Materials Chemistry from The University of Toronto in 2014. In 2014, Dr. Jahnke joined Karen Wooley’s laboratory in the Department of Chemistry as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Dr. Jahnke is now an Assistant Research Scientist in Dr. Wooley’s laboratory, and her research interests focus on degradable polymer systems derived from natural and renewable resources.
Karen L. Wooley is the W. T. Doherty-Welch Chair in Chemistry, a University Distinguished Professor and a Presidential Impact Fellow at Texas A&M University, where she holds appointments in the Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering. She also serves as Director of the Laboratory for Synthetic-Biologic Interactions. Research interests include the synthesis and characterization of degradable polymers derived from natural products, unique macromolecular architectures and complex polymer assemblies, and the design and development of well-defined nanostructured materials.
Sugar Plastics, LLC
Together, Dr. Ashlee Jahnke and Dr. Karen Wooley are developing synthetic methodologies by which to transform simple table sugar into complex, functional polymer materials (sugar plastics) that breakdown to regenerate sugar after they have performed their purpose. This strategy of using natural products to build plastics addresses three critical challenges:
- sustainability
- plastic accumulation
- safety.
Natural resources reduce reliance on petrochemical feedstocks, enhancing sustainability. Whether plastics are meant to degrade or not, they often do so under extreme conditions. By taking into consideration the entire life cycle of the polymers, Sugar Plastics allow for breakdown into environmentally-benign and biologically-beneficial by-products. There are many applications for which these materials may be of great benefit.
