Combating Plastic Pollution
Meet chemistry major and dance minor Deepika Shingwekar.
Hometown: Fremont, California
Thesis advisers: Prof. Daniel Loya [chemistry] and Prof. Jay Mellies [biology]
Thesis: “From Bottles to Biodegradation: Investigating Crystal Polymorphism for Chemo-Microbrial Plastic Degredation”
What it’s about: To combat plastic pollution, my thesis focuses on optimizing the rate of PET plastic biodegradation by a plastic-degrading bacterial consortium using chemical methods. I’m looking at the effect of crystal polymorphism, or how molecules arrange in the solid state, on microbial degradation to make the entire biodegradation process even faster.
What it’s really about: Making plastic-eating bacteria a feasible route for plastic recycling (using chemistry)!
In high school: I was a band kid and a dancer, and spent lots of time looking up random things on Wikipedia (still do!).
Influential Reed class or professor: Community Dance (Dance 232) taught by Prof. Victoria Fortuna [dance]. Growing up as a dancer, I always thought of dance as a product-oriented experience, but taking Community Dance allowed me to enjoy the collaborative, creative process and gave me new insights about dance and movement.
Challenges faced: COVID was definitely a struggle during my freshman year, especially the isolation during quarantine. Despite the pandemic, I’ve been able to meet such amazing and wonderful people during my time at Reed that have made that tough first year worth it.
How Reed changed me: Reed has taught me to be more open to trying new things, as you never know what unique experiences you might miss.
Groups or clubs: I was the copresident of the Reed American Chemical Society student chapter for two years, and I hosted some amazing events, such as a periodic table cupcake decorating event, a NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) Instrument funeral, and even got to revive the longstanding Reed tradition of Nitrogen Day!
More cool stuff: I worked in the biology stockroom and through that job, I’ve learned to wrangle crayfish, perform some amateur woodworking, slice open a champagne bottle with a knife, and many more life skills than I could have imagined. I’ve also been a teaching assistant, grader, and tutor, which has been a fun and rewarding way to share my knowledge about the subject to others!
Awards, fellowships, grants: All of my research opportunities have been funded, including NSF funds from Prof. Jay Mellies’s grants, the Helen Stafford Research Fellowship, the Reed Opportunity Grant, and the Reed Initiative grant. I also received a commendation for excellence during the 2021-22 and the 2023-24 school year, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Special projects: I studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland during fall 2022. I had never been to the UK prior to that semester, and I appreciated the opportunity Reed gave me to explore the world!
What’s next: I start my chemistry PhD at Princeton University in the fall!
Tags: Academics, Students, Thesis, What is a Reedie?