Jenna Jambeck
{{Short description|American environmental engineer and academic (born 1974)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Jenna Romness Jambeck
| image = Jenna Jambeck MacArthur Fellow Portrait 03.jpg
| caption = Jenna Jambeck in 2022
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1974}}
| birth_place = Pine City, Minnesota
| workplaces = University of Georgia
| alma_mater = University of Florida
| thesis_title = The disposal of CCA-treated wood in simulated landfills : potential impacts
| thesis_url = https://worldcat.org/en/title/436098593
| thesis_year = 2004
}}
Jenna Jambeck (born 1974) an American environmental engineer who is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Georgia. Her research considers plastic pollution and efforts to address plastic waste. In 2022, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Early life and education
Jambeck grew up in Pine City, Minnesota and graduated from Pine City High School.{{cite web | url=https://www.pinecountynews.com/communities/pinecity/pine-city-grad-earns-engineering-accolades/article_0a358d4e-8c50-11ed-b4d9-f3ab2da27144.html | title=Pine City grad earns engineering accolades |last = LeBrun | first = T.A. | website=PineCountyNews.com | date=4 January 2023 | access-date=30 December 2023 }} Jambeck was an undergraduate student at the University of Florida.{{Cite web |title=Jenna Jambeck |url=https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2022/jenna-jambeck |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=MacArthur Fellows Program |language=en}} She majored in environmental engineering, before starting a masters, then doctorate. During her doctoral research on CCA-treated wood, Jambeck worked alongside Debra Reinhardt and Helena Solo-Gabriele.{{Cite web |title=Jenna Jambeck, Trash Expert and People Junkie |url=https://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/news/nceas-portraits-women-science-edition/jambeck |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis |language=en}} In 2004, she started a United States Environmental Protection Agency postdoctoral fellowship in Florida.{{Cite web |title=UGA College of Engineering |url=https://engineering.uga.edu/people/profile/jenna-jambeck-ph.d |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=engineering.uga.edu}}
Research and career
Jambeck was made an assistant professor at the University of Georgia in 2005. She was promoted to associate professor in 2015, and became the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering in 2020.{{Cite web |last=Wooten |first=Mike |date=2020-02-19 |title=Pioneering researcher named Distinguished Professor |url=https://news.uga.edu/jenna-jambeck-named-distinguished-professor/ |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=UGA Today |language=en-US}}
In 2001, Jambeck started working on marine debris, the solid plastic waste that accumulates in the shorelines of waterways.{{Cite web |title=Jenna Jambeck |url=http://www.oceansplasticleanup.com/Conservationists_Charities_Marine_Societies/Jenna_Jambeck_Professor_Ocean_Plastic_Waste.htm |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=www.oceansplasticleanup.com}} In 2014, Jambeck went on an ocean expedition with fourteen women scientists to better understand ocean plastics. The mission, "eXXpedition", looked to advance understanding of microplastics and their impact on environmental and human health.{{cite book |title=Citizen Science in Maritime Archaeology: The Power of Public Engagement |publisher=University Press of Florida |editor-last1=Scott-Ireton |editor-first1=Della A. |editor-last2=Raupp |editor-first2=Jason T. |editor-last3=Jones |editor-first3=Jennifer E. |date=19 September 2023 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qYLSEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Jenna+Jambeck%22&pg=PA274 |page=274 |isbn=9780813070506 |access-date=30 December 2023}}
Jambeck created debris tracker, an app that allows members of the public to monitor plastic pollution. The app, which started to track marine debris, was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.{{cite book |title=Our Plastic Problem and How to Solve It |publisher=Cambridge University Press |last=Morath |first=Sarah J. |date=24 March 2022 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y9teEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Jenna+Jambeck%22&pg=PA33 |page=33 |isbn=9781108841801 |access-date=30 December 2023}} Based on data collected by this app, in 2015 Jambeck estimated that there was over 8 million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean every year.
Jambeck was made a National Geographic Fellow in 2018.{{Cite web |title=Jenna Jambeck - National Geographic Society |url=https://explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org/jenna-jambeck |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org |language=en}} She looked to created standardized methods to characterize the factors which cause plastic waste leakage in the environment. These frameworks should provide strategies to prevent the potentially harmful side effects of plastic pollution. Alongside her work on plastic waste, Jambeck is interested in creating a circular economy. She developed the Circularity Assessment Protocol, CAP, which includes plastics manufacturers, users and people who are involved with waste management. The CAP was used by people in Miami to develop regulations to keep debris out of the water.{{Cite web |last1=Hataway |first1=James |last2=Georgia |first2=University of |title=Researchers help Miami fight plastic pollution |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-12-miami-plastic-pollution.html |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=phys.org |language=en}}
In 2022, Jambeck was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.{{Cite news |last=Blair |first=Elizabeth |date=2022-10-12 |title=An ornithologist, a cellist and a human rights activist: the 2022 MacArthur Fellows |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/10/12/1128352140/2022-macarthur-fellows-genius-grants |access-date=2022-10-12}}{{Cite web |last=Beeson |first=Leigh |date=2022-10-12 |title=UGA's Jenna Jambeck awarded MacArthur grant |url=https://news.uga.edu/jenna-jambeck-awarded-macarthur-grant/ |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=UGA Today |language=en-US}}
Selected publications
- {{Cite Q|Q34462547}}
- {{Cite Q|Q38641861}}
- {{Cite Q|Q55282151}}
References
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Category:21st-century American engineers
Category:21st-century American women engineers
Category:American environmental engineers