(4hu) Macromolecular Engineering of Membranes Capable of Energy-Efficient Chemical Separations and Water Purification

Separations represent a significant challenge for chemical engineers in the coming decades. A remarkable 10–15% of US energy is consumed to purify molecules for the chemicals industry. This massive energy cost is a result of traditional thermal processes like distillation that are currently needed to purify components in complex mixtures. Non-thermal approaches like membrane separations would save up to 90% of lost energy, and as an added benefit, unlike distillation, could be powered by electric pumps. Additionally, as traditional water sources become more stressed and polluted from a growing population, new, unconventional water sources will be needed to augment the water supply. The utilization of unconventional water, such as produced water from the oil and gas industry, agricultural wastewater, and industrial wastewater presents an opportunity for producing fit-for-purpose water as well as recovering valuable resources such as lithium, nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients, and other minerals. While there are many groups interested in these separations, very few groups combine rational materials design and synthesis with testing under relevant conditions. By combining polymer synthesis with materials testing, intentional design changes informed by separation performance can more rapidly evolve polymer structure.

My goal is to become a leader in membrane science for sustainable industrial separations and water purification. Specifically, I plan to address fundamental knowledge gaps related to the performance, durability, and applicability of membranes for carbon capture and purification of water from unconventional sources. My investigations will utilize a bottom-up synthetic polymer chemistry approach to produce rationally designed and highly efficient membranes capable of targeting specific solutes. Addressing challenges related to polymer aging and plasticization, two of the biggest roadblocks to the deployment of membranes for carbon capture, are of great interest to me. I believe that solving these issues will require knowledge of both the polymer physics involved in these phenomena as well as the synthetic skills to make rational modifications to polymer structures to change the polymer-polymer and polymer-penetrant interactions that cause them. In aqueous separations, I am particularly interested in the capture and removal of valuable ions, such as lithium and rare earth metals; toxic elements, such as boron and arsenic, that are difficult to remove using conventional membrane technology; and emerging contaminants, such as PFAS and microplastics. My group will utilize a multifaceted approach to problem solving, combining polymer synthesis, materials characterization, and transport studies to develop novel materials to address the most important separations needed for a green economy in a world more acutely feeling the effects of climate change. My expertise in polymer synthesis, polymer physics, and membrane science uniquely position me to achieve my research goals.

Research Experience

As a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin working with Professors Nate Lynd and Benny Freeman, I developed novel materials to better understand structure-property relationships in polymer electrolytes and highly selective ultrafiltration membranes for water purification. Many of the projects I worked on involved starting from a problem or hypothesis and designing a material from the ground up to address the specific challenge. For example, a significant limitation of isoporous membranes (ultrafiltration membranes with a high density of uniform pores formed through the self-assembly and non-solvent induced phase separation of block copolymers) is their lack of mechanical strength caused by the brittle matrix that makes up the structural support of the membrane. By developing a multiblock architecture that could be synthesized on the 50 – 100 g scale, we were able to demonstrate superior mechanical properties while maintaining high flux and selectivity. As a postdoctoral research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology working with Prof. Zach Smith, my focus on polymer design for application-specific materials has continued. Working with Prof. Wojciech Matusik’s group in the Department of Computer Science at MIT, we have experimentally verified a predictive model for generating novel structures for gas separation membranes. In my time at MIT, I have also worked with Prof. Tim Swager’s group on poly(arylene ethers) as a materials platform for ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes as well as Prof. Yan Xia’s group at Stanford to better understand the unique aging behavior of catalytic arene-norbornene annulation (CANAL) ladder polymers for gas separation applications. In each project, my approach has been to design polymers at the most basic, structural level for each target application, utilizing an understanding of how the structure-property relationships in the polymers affect transport.

Teaching Statement:

At every stage of my academic career, I have found teaching, mentoring, and sharing my passion for polymer science and chemical engineering to be extremely rewarding. As an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I served as a teaching assistant for nine different chemical engineering and chemistry courses, including core chemical engineering and chemistry classes as well as laboratory courses. As a part of the chemistry merit program, I specifically worked with students with high potential who are members of groups, such as women and ethnic minorities, who tend to be underrepresented in the areas of science, mathematics, and engineering. These experiences let me engage with students in an active learning environment where I could work one-on-one or in small groups of students to help develop their fundamental understanding of chemistry concepts and solve complex problems. For my efforts as an undergraduate TA, I was selected as a Teacher Ranked as Excellent by my students and the University of Illinois four separate semesters. I then went on to the University of Texas at Austin where I was a teaching assistant for both “Separation Processes and Mass Transfer” as well as “Introduction to Polymers”. As a professor, I will take what I have learned from my past teaching experiences and endeavor to create a positive learning environment where students feel included and supported. Beginning with first principals, I hope to guide students to understand a subject and be able to build off of the knowledge they have gained from other courses so that they can apply what they learn from me to future courses or careers.

In additional to teaching in a traditional classroom setting, I have had the opportunity to mentor numerous undergraduate and graduate students in starting their research careers. Helping develop a new student’s skills to the point where they may discover their own love of research is both rewarding and motivating me to continue pursuing a career in academia. In undergraduate and graduate research, creating a supportive and collaborative environment is crucial for learning and producing valuable scientific contributions. As a principal investigator, I will strive to foster a culture of inclusion and collaboration in my group by pairing younger students with senior graduate students and postdocs to mentor them and help them hone their research skills. Creating a positive, supportive, and friendly lab culture will be one of my top priorities. The best work is done by teams that enjoy collaborating and working with colleagues they trust. My ultimate goal will be to help produce the next generation of scientists and engineers capable of conducting independent research.

Given my chemical engineering background and extensive background in teaching, I am eager to teach chemical engineering core classes such as thermodynamics, transport, kinetics and reaction engineering, mass and energy balances, as well as more specialized courses in polymer synthesis and physics. As a faculty member, I would like to develop a course targeted towards graduate students and advanced undergraduate students on mass transport in polymers and membrane applications specifically related to the green energy transition.