PRESENTS

a fascinating talk by Riley Cotter entitled: I hate bad numbers: Stories about microplastic research.

Riley Cotter is a recent graduate of Memorial University’s Department of Geography whose Master's thesis investigated plastics in Arctic surface waters using place-based analytics.  Currently a Research Specialist at CLEAR, in this talk Riley will reflect on his early career as a marine microplastic researcher, highlighting opportunities he's found to produce “better numbers” in microplastics research through a critical interrogation of methods and analytics. The talk will conclude with a preview of Riley’s upcoming PhD work, which will aim to harmonize community-based approaches for marine microplastic monitoring in pursuit of more locally meaningful, comparable, and actionable research. 

When: Friday April 10th, 2026 | 12-1pm

Where: Arts 2071