Susan Selke

Director

Center for Packing innovation and Sustainability

WEBSITE

https://www.canr.msu.edu/people/dr-susan-selke

BIOGRAPHY

Broad research interests within the general area of packaging and the environment. Research activities include plastics recycling, biodegradable plastics, plastic/natural fiber composites, and lifecycle assessment. Specific examples include understanding the role of uncertainty in lifecycle analysis, use of microcellular foaming to improve the performance of HDPE/PP blends and composites of those blends with wood fibers; modeling the migration of contaminants in recycled plastic through a functional barrier of virgin plastic and into a food or beverage product; performance of bio-based and petrochemical-based biodegradable plastics; microcellular foaming of a biodegradable polyester; and incorporation of zeolites into a biodegradable plastic to provide active packaging functionality.

AREA OF EXPERTISE

Plastics recycling
Biodegradable plastics
Plastic/natural fiber composites
Lifecycle assessment