SEES Winter 2026 Seminar Series: Environmental Microplastics

Supported by a generous donation from Alumnus Steve Wille

Environmental Microplastics: What, where, and why you might care.

Thursdays, 3:30-4:30 in Vernier Science Center, room 105

Open to the public and available for credit as EES/ESM 407/507

Downloadable PDF

Date

Topic

Presenter

Jan 8 Introduction to Environmental Contaminants  Allie Tissot, PhD (ESM alum) 
Jan 15The Motion of Plastics in the Ocean: Aqueous Transport of MicroplasticsKellie Teague, MS - Research Analyst, Oregon Microplastics Analytical Research Center
Jan 22Microplastics in aquatic and marine organisms: what we know and where we’re headedSusanne Brander, PhD, Pew Charitable Trusts and Oregon State University + Lauren Kashiwabara, Graduate student, OSU
Jan 29Microplastics in Soils: Long-Term Accumulation due to Land-Application of BiosolidsMarkus Flury, PhD, Professor of Soil Physics, Washington State University
Feb 5The global microplastics cycle: Land, Sky, Sea, & Me!Britta Baechler, PhD, Director of Ocean Plastics Research, The Ocean Conservancy (ESM alum)
Feb 12Lessons for managing emerging contaminants in Tribal landsNegonne Blair, MS, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Feb 19Lessons learned from developing an accredited microplastic lab for drinking water analysisWin Cowger, PhD, Research Director, Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research 
Feb 26Microplastics and human healthSpeaker TBD
Mar 5Should we just go naked? Exploring sources to solutions for textile microfiber pollutionLisa Erdle, PhD, Director of Science and Innovation, 5 Gyres
Mar 12Solutions at Every Scale: From Plastic-Eating Microbes to the Global Plastics TreatyAnja Brandon, PhD, Director of Plastics Policy, The Ocean Conservancy