Dr. Katharine Owens is a Professor in the Department of Politics, Economics, and International Studies and Director of the University Interdisciplinary Studies program at the University of Hartford. She is an interdisciplinary scholar who seeks to merge science, policy, and the arts on the topic of plastic pollution. She creates life-sized portraits of animals harmed by plastic pollution by hand sewing film plastic onto canvas. Her work has been supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Geographic Society, the Fulbright Nehru program, and the Connecticut Office of the Arts.