Franziska Trautmann, United States of America

Biography 

From a fraternity backyard in New Orleans to Louisiana's eroding coastline, Franziska's journey as a chemical engineer has transformed glass waste into environmental gold. This Carencro native leads Glass Half Full, diverting over 8 million pounds of glass from landfills into sand for coastal restoration. With National Science Foundation backing, she's not just recycling—she's rebuilding Louisiana, with 1,700 meters of restored coastline already to her credit. When not in the lab or on the shore, Franziska translates complex environmental science into viral TikTok content, reaching 300,000 followers who follow her mission to turn waste into wonder and educate a generation about practical solutions to our planet's most pressing challenges.

Q. What personal experience has shaped or inspired your journey?

Growing up in South Louisiana I always heard about our coastal erosion issues. We lose a football field’s worth of land every 100 minutes due to coastal erosion. But to me, coastal erosion was like an intangible boogey man – something that was far off and posed a future issue. However, the older I got the more I realized that coastal erosion was affecting so much of my life, from worsening storms to seafood to floods. Once I started my company, I knew I wanted to dedicate my time to solving this far-reaching issue. 
 

Q. Who is the influential figure who has inspired your actions, and what specifically about them has been motivating?

I don’t think there was a single influential figure who has inspired my actions, but I am consistently inspired by the women around me who dedicate their lives to making the world a better place. I think of my professors who educate students about the natural world and our part in it. I think of the mothers I know, who raise children to care for our environment. And I think of political leaders who fight to make changes in states like Louisiana.
 

Q. In your conservation efforts for wetlands, what key challenges did you face and how has this experience fuelled your dedication to making a positive impact?

The biggest challenge I faced in my conservation efforts was backing up my hypothesis with research and data. Glass Half Full started with the idea that we could turn glass back into sand and use it to restore wetlands. However, little research had been done on this topic so we had to virtually start from scratch. I partnered with my professors from Tulane University and we were awarded funding from the National Science Foundation to fund a diverse team of scientists and engineers. This team has now completed years of research on utilizing recycled glass sand in marsh restoration.  
 

Q. As a woman who has made significant strides, where can you say investment is required to accelerate progress and empower women’s actions for wetlands?

I believe investment in women entrepreneurs is required to accelerate progress and empower women’s action for wetlands. Women entrepreneurs are significantly underfunded and less likely to receive capital for their business. All the while, even the United Nations agrees that women are key to solving our climate crisis. For this reason, I believe investment in women entrepreneurs is key to improving our wetlands and our world.