(2kd) Exploring the Intersection of Heterogeneous Catalysis and Carbon Capture

Currently, I am a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and expect to graduate in spring 2024. After graduation, I plan to pursue a postdoc working on sorbent synthesis and characterization for carbon capture. I am especially interested in direct air capture due to the pressing need to reduce the atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration. My current research concentrates on heterogeneous gas-phase catalysis (zeolite catalyzed butene isomerization), and catalyst characterization (pore volume, crystallinity, carbon deposit content, acidity).

During my master’s, I joined the group of Prof. Carsten Sievers to conduct research on mechanocatalytic ammonia synthesis. In this work, we successfully investigated a novel, small-scale alternative to produce ammonia via ball milling, while using a variety of characterization techniques (XRD, XAS, mass spectrometry and ion chromatography) to develop a mechanistic understanding (ACS Energy Lett. 2020, 5, 11, 3362). The characterization experience I gained during the ammonia synthesis research has allowed me to approach my Ph.D. project in a unique manner. The goal of my Ph.D. is to understand the changes in catalyst structure and carbon deposits during butene isomerization and to use this knowledge to develop efficient catalyst regeneration procedures. The changes in unit cell structure I discovered with X-ray powder diffraction (Hebisch, K.L. et. al. “Unit Cell Distortion of Ferrierite induced by Carbonaceous Deposits during Skeletal Isomerization of Butene”, submitted) and pore accessibility that I studied with physisorption allowed us to determine the reaction location on the zeolite and role of deposits in the catalytic cycle.

My long-term research goals are to apply my material characterization skills (spectroscopy, physisorption, X-ray analyses, thermogravimetry) to pressing questions in catalysis, and to develop novel composite materials for CO₂ capture with improved stability and reduced costs. I transferred my knowledge of gas-phase catalysis and material characterization to DAC during a summer internship at BASF Corporation (Iselin, NJ). There, I identified ways to modify existing polymer sorbents for carbon capture and tested samples in multiple adsorption/desorption cycles using gas-phase detection via infrared spectroscopy. I successfully created a composite material with improved degradation stability under ambient conditions. Working with polymer sorbents has sparked my interest in polymer science. My characterization skills will allow me to derive structure-property relationships and rationally design novel sorbents. As part of my postdoc, I plan to add new polymer characterization techniques like GPC, rheology, and liquid NMR to my characterization portfolio. Since I worked on three different research topics during my master and Ph.D., I am confident that I can adapt quickly to new projects. My multidisciplinary knowledge of chemistry, chemical engineering and material characterization will bring a unique perspective to any future research project.

Teaching and Mentoring Interests:

I discovered my passion for mentoring when I started working with undergraduate students during the second year of my Ph.D. So far, I have instructed five undergraduates with varying levels of experience, spanning from freshmen to senior year. I guided one of my students successfully through the PURA (President’s Undergraduate Research Award at Georgia Tech) proposal process, which she was awarded in the spring 2023 semester. I really appreciate working alongside diverse personalities and discovering different strengths and potentials in each of them. Furthermore, for the past two years I have been a leader of a “Grad Groups” (GT6000) class at Georgia Tech. This peer-taught class aims at providing first-semester graduate students (both master and Ph.D. level) a smoother transition into graduate school. During this 8-week course, we covered a multifaceted breadth of topics, ranging from finding mentors and advisors to time-management, strategies for coping with the omnipresent stressors in graduate school, and diversity and inclusion. Moreover, during the pandemic I got interested in Korean culture and language. Hence, I decided to help North Korean defectors as an English language tutor. My tutoring sessions allow me not only to meet new and interesting people with a background vastly different from mine, but also to create my own curriculum and explore different teaching resources. All these experiences have reinforced my desire to mentor young people throughout my career. I am confident that my mentoring and teaching experience will be valuable skills in working with M.S. and Ph.D. students as a postdoc. Furthermore, my experience as an English language tutor has prepared me for working in a research laboratory abroad where English is spoken as a second language. Here, my international background and awareness of cultural differences will be a helpful addition to any research group.