(4gl) Embracing Complex Organic Wastes As Valuable Feedstocks for a Renewable Future

Research Interests: Climate change is among the most pressing global issues of our time, whose causes and potential solutions are deeply interconnected to fuel systems, electricity production, and chemical manufacturing industries. Waste management presents a similarly daunting problem, not just for disposal (i.e., landfills), but with major missed opportunities for valorization. My research aims to address these problems in tandem, by transforming valuable waste components to chemicals and fuels, thereby leveraging waste otherwise bound for landfills in pursuit of fossil fuel alternatives. Despite decades of research into waste valorization and alternative fuels, scalable advancements are hindered by the chemical complexity of these multifaceted and interconnected environmental problems. Tackling these challenges requires a deep understanding and careful analysis of the fundamental chemistry governing these complex feedstocks and their processing.

My PhD research advanced the understanding of the complex chemical mechanisms governing waste-based hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) using both computational and experimental methods. Utilizing advanced analytical techniques such as high-resolution mass spectrometry, and computational density functional theory (DFT), I revealed the prevalence of the Maillard reaction in the formation of nitrogen heterocycles in HTL-derived biocrude. Coupling GC×GC with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) further enabled mechanistic insights into the role of heterogeneous acid-base catalysts on biocrude yield and quality, finding that hydroxyapatite can serve as a mixed homogeneous-heterogeneous catalyst to significantly improve biocrude-to-char selectivity in high-carbohydrate feedstocks. Additionally, these high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques were used alongside FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis to understand the emergent chemical behavior seen in mixed-waste HTL processes. My postdoctoral research has continued this emphasis on complex chemistry and biomass conversion, including an in preparation manuscript uncovering the physicochemical-reactivity relationship of lignin extraction from nut shells.

Motivated by these grand challenges, my long-term research plan aims to utilize a combination of kinetic modeling, computational thermodynamics, and advanced analytical chemistry techniques to elucidate the poorly-understood mechanisms governing complex organic waste valorization. Incorporating chemical and reductive modeling will determine the most critical chemical properties to enable fundamental science-driven reaction engineering for broadly-applicable waste valorization. My background in high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques and complex mixture deconvolution will enable my environmental chemistry research group to pursue industry-relevant research in order to catalyze commercial renewable processes by providing chemical insights to govern process conditions and scale-up.

Teaching Interests: My goal as an educator is to foster an environment where all students feel empowered, able to make mistakes, and cultivate their technical and professional skills to take them beyond coursework into the real world. I am committed to providing students with the skills necessary to become successful engineers through student-centered learning including a mix of active-learning and lecture techniques which allow all learning styles to succeed.

Previously, as a co-instructor for Chemical Engineering Unit Operations during my PhD, I was able to mentor senior students in scientific report writing and presentation skills while earning the unique opportunity to watch them grow into independent researchers capable of asking the important questions and approaching the problem at hand. Additionally, my commitment to mentoring extends well-beyond the classroom, including directly advising over 14 undergraduate and 2 master's students across two institutions.

I am confident in my ability to effectively teach and incite interest in core chemical engineering courses, with a particular interest in those related to kinetics, reactor design, thermodynamics, and unit operations. Due to my unique skillset and background across chemistry, environmental engineering, and chemical engineering, I have observed a distinct lack of chemical analysis knowledge and courses within the chemical engineering curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. For this reason, I aim to develop an “Analytical Chemistry for Engineers” course which will include the “Who”, “What”, “When”, and “Why” of selecting appropriate analytical equipment for a particular application.

Yet, the role of an educator does not stop at the door to the classroom. Thus, I am deeply committed to educational outreach efforts, mentoring, and overall student outcomes. I seek to become a professor who leads undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdocs, in impactful research and prepare them for their own careers as scientists and engineers.