(4gu) Tandem Catalysis and System Design for Sustainability, Energy Transition, and Decarbonization

Most energy and chemical production industries currently operate on a “linear” approach, the outcome of which has been the loss of valuable resources and waste accumulation. The rapid global population growth, ever-increasing carbon emissions, and depletion of natural resources urgently call for a “circular” approach that minimizes raw material deficits and repurposes wastes such as CO₂ to be valorized and reused. Material science, particularly catalysis, is central to empowering the transition to more sustainable energy and chemical production strategies (circular). In addition, system design and optimization are essential as optimized processes are key to effectively using waste energy, chemical streams, and renewable energy sources. I opine that the future of energy and environmental systems greatly relies on integrated and highly optimized processes, where a “no waste” strategy must be practiced. This is the first time humanity has faced such a unique and multidimensional challenge involving society’s central aspects, such as energy and the environment. Nevertheless, leveraging decades of transferable science paves the way to design and implement a sustainable and clean future for ourselves, and many next generations.

As a faculty, my research will focus on three main themes:

1. Integrated Tandem Catalysis for Sustainable Carbon Utilization
2. Energy-agnostic Green Chemical Production using Porous Reticular Materials
3. System Engineering of Integrated Tandem Carbon Utilization and Chemical Production Processes

Selected Publications: (* denotes Corresponding Author)

1. Milad Ahmadi Khoshooei*, X. Wang, G. Vitale, F. Formalik, K.O. Kirlikovali, R.Q. Snurr, P. Pereira-Almao, and O.K. Farha*, “An active, stable cubic molybdenum carbide catalyst for high-temperature reverse-water-gas shift reaction.” Science 384 (2024): 540-546.
2. Milad Ahmadi Khoshooei, J. Hofmann, H. Xie, S. Vornholt, Y. Chen, F. Sha, K.O. Kerlikovali, K. Chapman, O.K. Farha*, “Exploiting metal nodes of Ni-MFU-4l MOF for hydrogenation reaction: Effect of side ligand” (2024) (Submitted).
3. Milad Ahmadi Khoshooei¹, Xie¹, M. Mandal, S. M. Vornholt, J. Hofman, F. Sha, K. Kirlikovali, J.M. Notestein, L. Gagliardi, K. Chapman, O.K. Farha*, “Introducing metal-sulfur active sites in metal-organic frameworks via post-synthetic modification for hydrogenation catalysis.” (2024) (Submitted). [1: Equal Contribution]
4. Milad Ahmadi Khoshooei*, G. Vitale, L. Carbognani, and P. Pereira-Almao, “Evidence of simultaneous water dissociation and hydrogenation on molybdenum carbide nanocatalyst for heavy hydrocarbons hydroprocessing.”, Catalysis Science & Technology 147 (2022): 6015-6034.

Teaching Interests

I envision teaching as a way to educate students rather than simply instructing them some knowledge, as I believe a true leader should ultimately create more leaders. The opportunities to teach and to mentor have been a significant driving force in my pursuit of an academic career. I am committed to developing every student's technical, professional, academic, and life skills. In today’s world of science, conventional boundaries that are used to define different engineering and science fields have considerably emerged into one another. Therefore, I strive to incorporate an interdisciplinary approach to teaching to equip the next generations of technical leaders, policymakers, and future educators with the essential technical and critical thinking capabilities for the future. Thus, I intend to incorporate teaching concepts that aim to approach a problem from different aspects of engineering and science so that students would learn to integrate the different skill sets they obtain throughout their curriculum. This, in turn, equips students with an out-of-the-box thinking mindset and helps them strengthen their teamwork and interpersonal skills.

I am very grateful for the teaching assistantship (TA) and guest lectureship opportunities during my academic journey, where I could develop strong teaching skills in an “on-the-job training” format. I have been a TA for various courses, including lecture-based, lab-based, and engineering design projects. Additionally, I believe in nurturing my skills through training. Thus, during my PhD, I enrolled in the “Effective Engineering Teaching Workshop” offered by Dr. R. Brent, President of Education Designs Inc., and Dr. R. M. Felder, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University. This workshop was very effective for developing essential skills from highly skilled leaders in educational teaching that I will integrate and effectively use in my teaching career. Employing the knowledge from this practical workshop and working alongside distinguished instructors led me to be nominated for UCalgary's Graduate Students' Association Teaching Excellence Award. Given my teaching background and experience, I am interested in teaching a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, including (but not limited to) Thermodynamics, Kinetics and Reaction Engineering, Catalysis, Separations, and Design Projects. I am committed to incorporating research-based pedagogical methods into course structures to maximize student learning outcomes.