Graduate Research Highlights

October 2023: Nicholas Stavinski

Person smiling standing in front of brick building wearing blue and white checkered button down shirt and black suit jacket.

Nicholas Stavinski, 5th year PhD student in Dr. Velarde's lab.

Notable recent achievements

Publications

Awards

  • 2022 Russell L. Agrusa Student Innovation Award – Department of Computer Science & Engineering
  • 2021 Mattern-Tyler Teaching Award – Department of Chemistry

Presentations

  • Oral Presentation. “Molecular-level Automation for Sustainable Recycling Industries: Machine Learning Classification of Plastic Waste”. American Chemical Society - 2023 National Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
  • Oral Presentation. “From Crystallinity to Recoverability: Polyethylene Structure-Property Relationships for Future Recycling Technologies”. 2023 40th Annual Chemistry Graduate Student Symposium, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.
  • Oral Presentation. “High-Throughput Multi-Modal Sensing and Computer Vision for Sustainable Recycling Industries”. American Chemical Society - 2022 Northeast Regional Meeting, Rochester, NY.

Research highlight

Broadly, our research examines the surfaces and interfaces of waste plastic chemistry using visible, mid-, and near-infrared spectroscopy. We seek to gain a more fundamental understanding of these “messy” materials to advance autonomous recycling technologies and enhance the polymer circular economy.

I enjoy having the opportunity to not only collaborate with other UB chemistry students but also those from other departments, such as Biological & Chemical Engineering and Computer Science & Engineering. These collaborations have provided me with a well-rounded science experience that will help me in my future career.

Outside of the Velarde Research Laboratory, I enjoy fishing for bass, perch, and walleye. I am also an avid football fan who enjoys attending Buffalo Bills games and rooting for my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers.

Congratulations, Nicholas!

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