This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Every day, we are surrounded by ink; it’s on magazines, newspapers, billboards, packaging, products, food, and clothes. The list is seemingly endless, but what is ink made of? Petroleum, a fossil fuel that never biodegrades. As a biologist who studies algae, Scott just might have stumbled upon a solution to this sustainability blindspot.

Scott has spent the last decade in the algae bioproducts industry, leading research and developing projects with the goal of optimizing algae growth for biofuels. In 2008, he did product development at an algae biotechnology company that raised 17 million dollars during the development phase. In 2013, he co-founded Living Ink, a company that develops sustainable ink technologies from algae. Living Ink has won several awards including the Department of Energy Cleantech Competition.