“When a car gets shredded that is a substantial acoustic phenomenon,” says Marion Emmert, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.  

Emmert began researching automobile recycling five years ago as a member of the school's Center for Research, Recovery and Recycling (CR3). More specifically, she tears electric car engines to pieces using a laboratory version of the industrial shredder that elicits her awe—it doesn’t emit quite the audio spectacle, but it rattles with enough force that it’s kept on the floor for safety.  

Emmert prospects for precious metals contained in the engine grinds. The metals are necessary for every aspect of our tech-centered lives and they are in tenuous supply. (Read a National Geographic magazine feature on