Dr. Sherri "Sam" Mason: The Perils of Plastic
Channel: Save The River / Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper
Date: 15/02/2019

Dr. Sherri "Sam" Mason, Sustainability Coordinator at Penn State Behrend, discusses her research of microplastics found in the Great Lakes at Save The River's 30th Annual Winter Environmental Conference on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, NY. 

'Single-Use' plastic was named the world of the year by Collins Dictionary highlighting the wave of news stories, social media hits, and policies that have become increasingly common over the last few
years. Why? What is the problem with plastic? Here we will present a basic primer on what plastic is and the realities of plastic pollution right here, right now in the Great Lakes region.

Dr. Sherri A. Mason (aka “Sam”) earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She completed her doctorate in Chemistry at the University of Montana as a NASA Earth System
Science scholar. While a Professor of Chemistry at SUNY Fredonia, her research group is among the first to study the prevalence and impact of plastic pollution within freshwater ecosystems. Among her
accolades Dr. Mason was named an EPA Environmental Champion in 2016, was awarded for her Excellence in Environmental Research by the Earth Month Network in 2017 and was selected to receive a Heinz Award in Public Policy in 2018. She has recently moved into a new role as Sustainability Coordinator at Penn State Behrend.