Sustainable Minerals, Metals, and Materials

2024-2027

Synthetic materials made with petroleum-based feedstocks, as well as the polymers used in a variety of products, currently create pollution and contribute to global warming. Clean energy technologies themselves rely on mining of critical metals and minerals that can damage the environment. Basic science breakthroughs in the development and use of materials that enhance new technologies (such as synthetic polymers, coatings, plastics, bio-inspired materials, critical minerals and metals, rare earth elements, and other related materials) will be critical to a transition to a sustainable and low-carbon energy system. This Scialog series will facilitate connections between approximately 50 early career chemists, materials scientists, geologists, ecologists, engineers, and energy system modelers, with the goal of catalyzing collaborative, cross-disciplinary projects to investigate how to design, manufacture, and recycle substances so that their use and production at scale is more compatible with ethical stewardship of our environment and decarbonizing the energy system.

Applications to participate in the 2026 meeting are closed.

Fellows & Facilitators

About 50 early career faculty will be invited as Fellows, ranging from their first year on faculty to recently post-tenure. Around 10 senior scientists will act as Facilitators to outline major questions, guide discussions, and assess proposals.

Fellows

Lun An
Division of Critical Materials
Ames National Laboratory
Angelina Anani
Mining and Geological Engineering
University of Arizona

Brooks Abel
Chemistry
University of California, Berkeley
Aisulu Aitbekova
Chemical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Diego Alzate-Sanchez
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Northeastern University
Joshua Atkinson
Civil & Environmental Engineering / Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute
Princeton University
Claudia Avalos
Chemistry
New York University
Junwei Lucas Bao
Chemistry
Boston College
Jaime Barros-Rios
Plant Science and Technology
University of Missouri
Buz Barstow
Biological and Environmental Engineering
Cornell University
Chris Bartel
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Isabel Barton
Mining & Geological Engineering
University of Arizona
Ngoc Bui
Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering
University of Oklahoma
Mathias Burisch-Hassel
Geology and Geological Engineering
Colorado School of Mines
Juliana Carneiro
Chemical Engineering
Columbia University
Christopher Cooper
Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis
Damilola Daramola
Chemical Engineering
Northeastern University
Sili Deng
Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Carlos Diaz-Marin
Energy Science and Engineering
Stanford University
Qi (Tony) Dong
Chemistry
Purdue University
Leora Dresselhaus-Marais
Materials Science and Engineering
Stanford University
Austin Evans
Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering
University of Florida
Megan Fieser
Chemistry
University of Southern California
Ariel Furst
Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Kara Fong
Chemical Engineering
California Institute of Technology
Victor Fung
Computational Science and Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Sarah George
Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Miguel Gonzalez
Chemistry
Dartmouth College

Nancy Guo
Applied Physical Sciences
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Grace Han
Chemistry
University of California, Santa Barbara
Kailong Jin
Engineering of Matter, Transport & Energy
Arizona State University
Jihye Kim
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Colorado School of Mines
Junsoo Kim
Mechanical Engineering
Northwestern University
Ryan Kingsbury
Civil & Environmental Engineering / Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
Princeton University
Michael Kipp
Earth and Climate Sciences
Duke University
Erika La Plante
Materials Science and Engineering
University of California, Davis
Karl Lang
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Georgia Institute of Technology
Xuefei Li
Chemistry
Georgia State University
Chong Liu
Molecular Engineering
University of Chicago
Yuzhong Liu
Chemistry
Scripps Research Institute
Zhenfei Liu
Chemistry
Wayne State University
Nadia Léonard
Chemistry & Biochemistry
University of California, Santa Barbara
Danielle Mai
Chemical Engineering
Stanford University
Samantha McBride
Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
University of Pennsylvania
Tushar Mittal
Geosciences
Pennsylvania State University
Ivan Moreno-Hernandez
Chemistry
Duke University
Thandazile Moyo
Energy and Mineral Engineering
Pennsylvania State University
Matthew Nava
Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of California, Los Angeles
Oscar Nordness
Earth and Environmental Engineering
Columbia University
Olumide Ogunmodimu
Energy and Mineral Engineering
Pennsylvania State University
Michelle Personick
Chemistry
University of Virginia
Tuan Anh Pham
Quantum Simulation Group
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Zhe Qiang
Polymer Science and Engineering
University of Southern Mississippi
Shelby Rader
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Indiana University Bloomington
Jeromy Rech
Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of North Carolina at Asheville
Loretta Roberson
Bell Center
Marine Biological Laboratory
Nicholas Rolston
Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering
Arizona State University
Liela Romero
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Baylor University
Julie Rorrer
Chemical Engineering
University of Washington
Zachary Schiffer
Applied Physics
Harvard University
Hunter Schroer
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Missouri University of Science & Technology
Michael Schulz
Chemistry
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Udayan Singh
Fuels and Chemicals Group
Argonne National Laboratory
Wen Song
Center for Subsurface Energy and the Environment
University of Texas at Austin
Rebecca Smaha
Materials, Chemical, and Computational Sciences
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Samanvaya Srivastava
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Los Angeles
Xiangcheng Sun
Chemical Engineering
Rochester Institute of Technology
William Tarpeh
Chemical Engineering
Stanford University
Agnes Thorarinsdottir
Chemistry
University of Rochester
Thao Tran
Chemistry
Clemson University
Marissa Tremblay
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Purdue University
Julian West
Chemistry
Rice University
Josh Worch
Chemistry
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Shuwen Yue
Chemical Engineering
Cornell University
Helen Zha
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Qiaofu Zhang
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
University of Alabama
Wencai Zhang
Mining and Minerals Engineering
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Micah Ziegler
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering / Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology
Michael Zuerch
Chemistry
University of California, Berkeley

Facilitators

Kwame Awuah-Offei
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Will Dichtel
Northwestern University
Peter Dorhout
Iowa State University
Jennifer Dunn
Northwestern University
Andrea Hicks
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Amy Landis
Colorado School of Mines
Ikenna Nlebedim
Critical Materials Innovation Hub, Ames Laboratory
Eric Schelter
University of Pennsylvania
Jonathan Wilker
Purdue University

Team Awards

Goal: to spark advances in the mining, design, manufacture, and disposal of materials needed to achieve a more sustainable and low-carbon energy system.

2024 Team Awards

Seaweed for Critical Element Extraction and Transformation (Sea-CrEET)

Nicholas Rolston
Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering
Arizona State University ²
Loretta Roberson
Bell Center
Marine Biological Laboratory ²
Julian West
Chemistry
Rice University ²

Engineering Plants and Algae as Dye-Free Alternatives to Fossil-Based Textiles

Helen Zha
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ³
Loretta Roberson
Bell Center
Marine Biological Laboratory ³
Jaime Barros-Rios
Plant Science and Technology
University of Missouri ¹

Synergistic Photomechanical Depolymerization

Junsoo Kim
Mechanical Engineering
Northwestern University ¹\

Grace Han
Chemistry
Brandeis University ¹

Lucas Bao
Chemistry, Boston College ¹

Electrocatalyst Formation from Extracted Critical Trace Elements in Copper Ores (EFFECT ECO)

Nicholas Rolston
Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering
Arizona State University ²

Agnes Thorarinsdottir
Chemistry
University of Rochester ²

Isabel Barton
Mining & Geological Engineering
University of Arizona ²

AI/ML-assisted Separation and Programmable Electrodeposition of Ni and Co

Jihye Kim
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Colorado School of Mines ²

Shuwen Yue
Chemical Engineering
Cornell University ²

Qi (Tony) Dong
Chemistry
Purdue University ²

Water-Free Silicate Activation for Valuable Metal Extraction

Erika La Plante
Materials Science and Engineering
University of California, Davis ²

Matthew Nava
Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of California, Los Angeles ¹

Oscar Nordness
Earth and Environmental Engineering
Columbia University ¹

Co-Developing Advanced Catalysts and Engineered Microbes to Upcycle Mixed, Low-Value Plastic Waste into High-Value Recombinant Products

Helen Zha
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ¹

Julie Rorrer
Chemical Engineering
University of Washington ¹

Funded by RCSA ¹
Funded by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation ²
Funded by The Kavli Foundation ³

2025 Team Awards

Layered by Design, Ordered by Process: Single-Material Solution for Sustainable Multilayer Films

Zhe Qiang
School of Polymer Science and Engineering
University of Southern Mississippi ¹
Josh Worch
Chemistry
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ¹

Healable Yet Durable Tires: Localizing Dynamic Interlinks on Particle Surfaces

Junsoo Kim
Mechanical Engineering
Northwestern University ¹
Josh Worch
Chemistry
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ¹
Micah Ziegler
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; School of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology ¹

Sustainable Lithium Enrichment by Hydrogel-Mediated Solar Evaporation

Grace Han
Chemistry & Biochemistry
University of California, Santa Barbara ²
Youhong Nancy Guo
Applied Physical Sciences
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ²
Michael Zuerch
Chemistry
University of California, Berkeley ²

Buoyant Microbes for Bioflotation and Coarse Mineral Separations

Thandie Moyo
Energy and Mineral Engineering
Pennsylvania State University ²
Hunter Schroer
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Missouri University of Science & Technology ²
Olumide Ogunmodimu
Energy and Mineral Engineering
Pennsylvania State University ²