Meet Elizabeth Hanechak, the 18-year-old Massachusetts student whose microbial system could convert plastic waste into drinking water and fertiliser, earning a $100,000 scholarship |

Image: Left/Davidson Institute/Right/Elizabeth Hanechak/LinkedIn

Many young people are still working out how to change the world, but Elizabeth Hanechak has already started with the plastic choking our planet. At eighteen, the student from Russell, Massachusetts, designed a microbial system that uses an engineered enzyme and microscopic algae to break plastic waste down into drinkable water and fertiliser materials. Her work earned one of the nation’s most prestigious honours for students eighteen and younger. Curious how one young researcher tackles such a huge problem? Read on. This article walks you through her story, her science, and the hopes she carries for communities facing plastic pollution.

Who Elizabeth Hanechak is, and how she became a 2025 Davidson Fellow Laureate with a $100,000 award

Elizabeth Hanechak, known as Eli, comes from Russell, Massachusetts, and was named a 2025 Davidson Fellow Laureate in the science category, an honour that carries a $100,000 scholarship. According to the Davidson Institute, she was one of three Massachusetts students recognised in 2025, alongside Ethan Yan of Groton and Philip Meng of Andover; the three share $175,000 as part of a program awarding a record $825,000 to 21 students nationwide in its twenty-fifth anniversary year. Hanechak told the Davidson Institute that she plans to earn a doctorate in environmental biochemistry and start her own environmental research company to carry the work into the real world. Away from the laboratory, she is an Eagle Scout who loves spending time outdoors, especially hiking and camping.

The recycled ocean plastic bracelet from her grandmother that gave Hanechak a project and a purpose

Every big idea has a starting point, and hers was a gift. Hanechak told the Davidson Institute that her grandmother gave her a 4Ocean bracelet made from recycled ocean plastic. Curious, she researched the company and the serious harm plastic pollution causes, and by the end of that day she had found not only a project topic but also a new purpose, easing the suffering that plastic pollution brings. That sense of mission has shaped everything since. She explained that in the countries most affected, simply getting rid of plastic is not enough. For affected people to fully recover, she said, the waste must be turned into something useful and healthy for the environment, and that belief drives her ongoing research.

How an engineered cutinase enzyme breaks plastic down within 24 hours into two toxic building blocks

Hanechak’s system works in two stages. In the first, she modified an enzyme called cutinase by enlarging its active site, the pocket where materials are broken down, so that long, durable plastic chains can fit inside. According to her project description for the Davidson Institute, this lets the enzyme break the plastic apart within 24 hours, returning it to the two chemicals it was originally made from, ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, both highly toxic. Those compounds are the raw material for the next stage. Hanechak told the Davidson Institute that the project combines modern genetic tools from microbiology with naturally occurring microorganisms. She added that the microbes are inexpensive to replicate, which makes the process an affordable yet effective way to treat large amounts of plastic waste.

The plastic is degraded into two toxic compounds, which are then treated with a type of algae that consumes the carbon molecules in the compounds as food and converts the rest into a nontoxic material that can be used as fertilizer (Image: Davidson Institute)

Microalgae consume the toxic compounds, leaving fertiliser material and a broth that filters into water

The second stage hands the toxic compounds to a naturally occurring strain of microalgae. Hanechak told the Davidson Institute that the algae consume the carbon atoms in those compounds as food and convert the remaining molecules into biomass that is nontoxic and can serve as a fertilising material. Because every reaction happens in a liquid broth, she explained, the broth can be filtered to produce a source of drinkable water. She hopes the process will help developing communities that lack the infrastructure to manage large amounts of plastic waste, with fertiliser supporting farms, cleared waterways restoring irrigation, and the absence of plastic preventing accidental burning and improving air quality. Her stated aim is to give those communities access to key resources for growth and development while also cleaning up their living spaces.

What the Davidson Fellows honour means to a young scientist, and her service work beyond the laboratory

For Hanechak, the recognition is about more than money. She told the Davidson Institute that the scholarship stands out because it acknowledges the focus and determination she sees as natural in young people. She said it validates “the hard work and sacrifice required” to bring her project to life, and encourages her to keep committing her energy to it even when she faces failure. Her commitments extend beyond science. For the past three years, she told the Davidson Institute, she has volunteered at her local American Legion post, leading two veteran cemetery improvement projects, and she works as a virtual science fair coach, guiding students new to research as they develop projects and prepare for competitions. Together, those details sketch a young scientist who pairs laboratory ambition with service.