Conference: Workshop on Bridging the Gaps: Tackling Microplastics and Nanoplastics Challenges in Coastal Ecosystems

About This Grant

This workshop will bring together experts from different fields to find solutions to the growing problem of microplastics and nanoplastics in coastal ecosystems. It will focus on key issues such as measuring, detecting, and reducing microplastics and nanoplastics, as well as understanding how these tiny plastic particles affect marine life and human health. Led by the University of South Alabama, the workshop is a partnership with Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Mississippi State University, Louisiana State University, and The Citadel. It will involve coordinated efforts across several Gulf Coast states including Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and East Coast states including South Carolina, Delaware, Maine, and Rhode Island. The event will encourage collaboration among universities, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. In addition to advancing research and practical solutions, the workshop will support training and workforce development to prepare the next generation of leaders working to address microplastic and nanoplastic pollution. This workshop will advance interdisciplinary research on microplastics and nanoplastics in coastal ecosystems by bringing together experts in environmental engineering, marine science, materials science, civil infrastructure, and public health. It will identify current challenges in characterizing, measuring, and quantifying microplastics and nanoplastics in water, soil, and air, while also addressing gaps in understanding their transport pathways, degradation mechanisms, and impacts on human health and ecosystems. The workshop will assess available techniques to remove, reduce, and mitigate these pollutants and will help define and reshape future research directions through collaboration, education, and outreach aimed at increasing awareness in STEM fields. It will establish shared research priorities, promote standardized methodologies, and support the development of regional datasets and shared infrastructure. The project will also strengthen research capacity by fostering faculty collaboration across multiple states and identifying future needs for laboratory and instrumentation investments. Integrated workforce development efforts will engage students and early-career researchers, while partnerships across academia, industry, nonprofits, and government will support long-term innovation in addressing plastic pollution. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Workshops and Outreach program. EPSCoR funds workshops, conferences and other community-based activities to explore opportunities in emerging areas of science and engineering, and to share best practices in strategic planning, diversity, communication, cyberinfrastructure, evaluation and other areas of importance to EPSCoR jurisdictions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.