URIs_MOMENTUM_Research_and_Innovation_Magazine_Spring_2026_M

transported,” says Roxbury. “We’re creating models that will predict how plastics are making it into the watershed and then all the way down to the bay and ocean. “One of the main goals here is to try to create that level of model that you can actually run time backwards to see where microplastics are originating from.” Critical to understanding microplastics in the Narragansett Bay watershed is how the impact marine and terrestrial species. Which animals are ingesting microplastics and being harmed by them? Which species seem unfazed? How do microplastics travel through the food web to impact human health? SIMCoast is answering such questions by supporting researchers in multiple areas of study, from wildlife conservation to aquaculture. But why conduct all this research and build Rhode Island into a go-to resource for studying microplastics? Who should know, and benefit from, this progress? SIMCoast has gathered a team to engage with local community members, state agencies, and industry to ensure that decision-makers are well-informed about how microplastics are impacting their cities and towns. This group will also develop inclusive approaches and programs to increase accessibility of SIMCoast research findings. “We are saying that microplastics are bad, right?” says Roxbury. ‘But when you go to local communities and say something like that, they’ll list 10 problems that are actually affecting their daily lives, and microplastics isn’t on that list. “We don’t want to push this science onto them, but if we can understand their perspectives, we can hopefully relate this work to their daily lives.” Roxbury has reflected often in the past year about what he’s learned from colleagues all trying to tackle the problem of plastics at such fine scales and how humans are, and will be, impacted by them. He hopes that the SIMCoast team can advance our knowledge of these pollutants, one particle at a time. “Being on this team of such diverse perspectives has been enlightening,” he says. “My job is to facilitate synergies where I can, making sure all rudders are heading the same direction.”

Daniel Roxbury Associate professor chemical, biomolecular, and materials engineering

Through this work, Roxbury and his team seek to establish standardized practices for studying micro and nanoplastics in Rhode Island and beyond. Current techniques to detect and image plastics at such small sizes are very limited, as well as being time-consuming and cost prohibitive. New methods from SIMCoast investigators work could provide better information to communities and policymakers about the potential impacts of these nearly invisible particles. “What we’re finding is that no approach is perfect,” he says. “How much do you want to sample versus how accurate do you want to be? New techniques are coming down the pipeline, and we’re seeing if they’re suitable to our needs.” The ways in which microplastics move through water bodies, in rivers and wastewater canals all the way to Narragansett Bay and out into the Atlantic Ocean, are complex and understudied. Scientists don’t currently know, for example, where microplastics are more likely to accumulate in coastal habitats. A second group of investigators are developing computer models to bring these flow patterns to light, as well as forecast where hotspots for collected plastics may be occurring. “Even if we have all the proper sampling, we need to develop empirical models about how these microplastics are being

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