Through support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Multi-University Center for the Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics (CUWP) is hosting a Research Experience for Undergraduates in the Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics. Student positions will be available at CUWP campuses at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Iowa State University.

Selected participants spend 10 weeks conducting research on one of two approaches to recycling plastic waste: (1) thermal depolymerization, in which the plastic is broken down into a liquid oil which can then be catalyzed to separate out plastic monomers, the main components in new virgin plastic and (2) solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP) processing, a technique that can be used to process and recycle layered plastic films.