Abigail Regitsky is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She conducts her research under the guidance of Prof. Niels Holten-Andersen in the Laboratory for Bioinspired Interfaces, where she is trying to create useful materials in a sustainable way. By mimicking Nature’s ability to make strong, tough biominerals (like shells, bones, and teeth), she hopes to create industrially-relevant materials with highly-controlled properties using processes that are not energy-intensive and without the use of harmful chemicals. She uses hydrogels to grow minerals and is pioneering rheology as a mechanical characterization tool for the field of biomineralization.
In addition to research, Abigail enjoys being involved in several sustainability groups on campus. She was president of the MIT Waste Alliance, co-chaired the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Sustainability Subcommittee, and is a member of the Environmental Solutions Initiative Student Advisory Council. She has also become interested in advancing sustainability through policy and serves on the executive board of the Science Policy Initiative, is a co-chair of the GSC External Affairs Board State and Local Affairs Subcommittee, and is a member of the Climate and Environment Working Group of the Envision Cambridge project.