James Sternberg

Assistant Professor
Sustainable Packaging
Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences Department

Office: P&A 234
Phone:

Email: sternbe@clemson.edu

Educational Background

Ph.D. Automotive Engineering
Clemson University 2020

M.S. Chemistry
University of Florida 2015

B.S. Chemistry
Furman University 2004

Courses Taught

PKSC 4050/6050: Sustainable Packaging Materials
PKSC 8220: Advanced Methods in Sustainable Materials

Profile

Dr. Sternberg has a background in chemistry and material science having completed his Ph.D. on the study of biobased polymers, foams, chemical recycling, and lifecycle assessment. His current position centers on innovating new materials for packaging applications and learning new ways to increase the efficiency of organic composting or chemical recycling of packaging waste.

Research Interests

Using renewable materials for polymers, foams, films, and coatings for packaging applications. Measuring the rate of compostability of new and existing packaging materials. Chemical recycling of one-time-use containers and upcycling of recycled materials to higher value materials. Transformation of agricultural by-products to activated carbon for energy applications and new catalyst design.

Lab Members

Abhijeet Rana, PhD Student, 2026
Marzieh Akrami, PhD Student, 2026
Nooshin Pedram, PhD Student, 2026
Milad Imeni, PhD Student, 2026
Hunter Dixon, Masters Student, 2026

Publications

1. Akrami, M., Sternberg, J. Glycerol as a Sustainable Source for Non-isocyanate Polyurethanes: Green Chemistry and Applications. ACS Polymers Au, Just Published, (2026).

2. Ganesan, K., Sternberg, J. & Pilla, S. Green chemistry design of one-step extraction of multi-functionalized lignin-precursors directly from biomass. Green Chemistry 28, 3150–3166 (2026).

3. Podduwala Hewage, S., Simmons, K., Pilla, S., Sternberg, J. Biobased chemical recycling: aminolysis of PET using renewable reagents and monomers to synthesize new semi-aromatic polyamides, RSC Sustainability, 3, 5155-5166 (2025).

4. Evancho, K., Reiner, R., Bujanovic, B., Pilla, S., Sternberg, J. Structure-property relationships of flexible, non-isocyanate polyurethane foams from lignin and castor oil-based reagents, RSC Advances, 15(45), 28056-38068 (2025).

5. Milani, M., Bridges, W., Hurley, A., and Sternberg, J. Assessing the viability of a proposed third-party reusable foodware system: An environmental and economic comparison, Cleaner Waste Systems, 12,
100387, (2025).

6. Ganesan, K., Guin, B., Wilbanks, E., Sternberg, J. S. Synthesis and Characterization of Soy Hull Biochar-based Flexible Polyurethane Foam Composites. Materials, 18(9): 2006, (2025).

7. Sternberg, J. S., Sequerth, O., Pilla, S. Valorizing depolymerized lignin oil through the green synthesis of a thermoplastic non-isocyanate polyurethane. Polymer, 330,128516 (2025).

8. Pradeep, S. A., Deshpande, A. M., Snah, B., Khan, S., Farahani, S., Sternberg, J. S., Li, G., Pilla, S. Advancing Automotive Light-weighting: Material–Process–Microstructure–Performance (MP2)Relationships of Supercritical Foam Injection of PP–Graphene Nanocomposite Foams and Over-molding. SAE International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, Energy, Environment, and Policy, 5 (3): 249 -262 (2024).

Links