{"693413":{"#nid":"693413","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Develop a New Recipe for Better Molecular Imaging ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAndrei Fedorov and his team have found a way to take some of the guesswork out of mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), potentially giving scientists better tools to explore the molecules that influence our health.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA small sample of human tissue can hold a remarkable amount of information.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers can use it to search for molecular clues associated with cancer, investigate the chemical landscape of the brain, or determine where a drug travels after it enters the body. Mass spectrometry imaging, or MSI, helps answer those questions by mapping where different molecules are located within tissue.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut there\u0027s a catch. Despite MSI\u0027s sophisticated capabilities, finding the right conditions to get useful results can still require a considerable amount of trial and error. Georgia Tech professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/andrei-fedorov\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAndrei Fedorov\u003C\/a\u003E and Ph.D. student John Sentmanat are working to change that.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMass spectrometry imaging is probably the most powerful tool to enable new discoveries in cell biology and protein biochemistry. It helps provide a direct insight not only to how the body works but also the underlying cause of disease,\u201d said Fedorov, Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Chair in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cBut the techniques for using it were evolving in a very empirical manner guided by experience and intuition. It\u2019s like shooting arrows in the dark.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn response to this barrier, the team has developed what Fedorov likens to a recipe, a framework designed to help researchers understand how different ingredients and conditions work together to produce the molecular information they want. Published in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/ancham\/article\/98\/39\/28617\/5431698\/Predicting-Outcomes-of-Impingement-Based-Mass\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAnalytical Chemistry\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the approach could make MSI more predictable and give scientists a better starting point for developing new ways to study the molecular workings of the human body.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis paper provides a very simple recipe that everyone can read and use. You don\u2019t need to be a chef, or in this case, be able to write complicated equations,\u201d Fedorov said. \u201cIt even allows you to come up with a new recipe using our model as the base.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough the framework was designed to be accessible to researchers across the field, Fedorov and Sentmanat didn\u2019t set out to solve a problem for the scientific community \u2014 they were trying to solve one in their own lab.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EGathering Ingredients\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2020, Fedorov, who is also a faculty member in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E, was awarded $1.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the development of a new imaging instrument that could change the study of tumor growth, disease progression, and cell function.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology, called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/11\/new-instrument-will-uncover-structure-and-chemical-composition-sub-cell-scale\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EBeamMap\u003C\/a\u003E, has continued to develop with additional support from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cellmanufacturingusa.org\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ENational Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies\u003C\/a\u003E (CMaT), led in part by Georgia Tech. By bringing together multiple imaging techniques, including MSI, BeamMap allows researchers to study both the physical surface of a biological sample and its molecular makeup.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile developing the instrument, Fedorov and Sentmanat encountered the same challenge that has made MSI difficult to optimize: Under some conditions, they successfully extracted the molecules they wanted to study. Under others, they damaged a sample without getting the information they needed. Rather than continue relying on trial and error, the team decided they needed a theory that could point them toward the right conditions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs we continued developing the instrument, we realized we needed to develop a theory to identify the optimal operating conditions,\u201d Sentmanat said. \u201cWhat began as an effort to fine-tune our own technology led to a broader theory that can be applied to a wide range of other approaches.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EWriting the Recipe\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo build the recipe, the team returned to the basic physics that determines when molecules leave a sample and become available for detection. They distilled those complex interactions into a simpler framework, then compared its predictions with experimental data from previously published studies. When the framework held up across different MSI approaches, the researchers realized the recipe could be useful well beyond their own lab.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u0027s all measurable data that any scientist in this field would be able to use,\u201d Fedorov said. \u201cIt\u2019s like having a magic tool that allows you, all of a sudden, not to be blind.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ENext on the Menu\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFedorov sees the new framework as one step toward making MSI easier to understand and use. By giving researchers a better starting point for choosing how to operate an MSI system, the recipe could help them spend less time searching for the right conditions and more time using the technology to answer biological questions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat could become increasingly important as medicine moves toward understanding disease and treatment at the molecular level.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMore and more, physicians base their diagnoses on much more specific molecular information,\u201d Fedorov said. \u201cThe drugs of the future will not be this little pill that you will be given; they will be your own immune cells. Your diagnostic tools have to match that future.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor now, the framework is intended primarily as a tool for researchers. But by helping scientists make better use of technologies like MSI, Fedorov hopes the work can contribute to discoveries that ultimately improve how diseases are understood, detected, and treated.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESeason to Taste\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike any recipe, the framework leaves room for adjustment. The team deliberately simplified some of the complex physics behind MSI to make the framework practical for other researchers, which means it is designed to point them toward promising conditions rather than predict exactly what will happen in every experiment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe theory provides a recipe that researchers can adapt by adding their own flavors,\u201d Sentmanat said. \u201cRather than prescribing an exact solution, it offers a framework for identifying the right ingredients and refining the conditions to achieve the best results.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers can adapt that starting point to their own instruments, samples, and questions. What began as an effort to improve \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.21203\/rs.3.rs-8832802\/v1\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EBeamMap\u003C\/a\u003E could ultimately help others refine existing MSI technologies or develop new approaches of their own.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s kind of empowering.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers can use a small sample of human tissue to search for molecular clues associated with cancer, investigate the chemical landscape of the brain, or determine where a drug travels after it enters the body. Mass spectrometry imaging, or MSI, helps answer those questions by mapping where different molecules are located within tissue.\u0026nbsp;But there\u0027s a catch. Despite MSI\u0027s sophisticated capabilities, finding the right conditions to get useful results can still require a considerable amount of trial and error. Georgia Tech professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/andrei-fedorov\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAndrei Fedorov\u003C\/a\u003E and Ph.D. student John Sentmanat are working to change that.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Andrei Fedorov and his team have found a way to take some of the guesswork out of mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), potentially giving scientists better tools to explore the molecules that influence our health. "}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-10-22 18:59:06","changed_gmt":"2026-10-26 13:05:01","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681519":{"id":"681519","type":"image","title":"Fedorov_AnalyticalChemistry_CoverArt1.jpg","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EThe impact of a high-energy droplet provides enough force to eject molecules from the sample, illustrating the more active extraction process examined in the study. \u003Cem\u003EImage courtesy of Analytical Chemistry.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1792695570","gmt_created":"2026-10-22 18:59:30","changed":"1792695570","gmt_changed":"2026-10-22 18:59:30","alt":"Illustration of a blue droplet striking a biological sample and ejecting molecules from the surface.","file":{"fid":"265931","name":"_0000_CoverArtV4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/22\/_0000_CoverArtV4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/22\/_0000_CoverArtV4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":160058,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/22\/_0000_CoverArtV4.jpg?itok=XRqbMGOn"}},"681520":{"id":"681520","type":"image","title":"Fedorov_AnalyticalChemistry_CoverArt2.jpg","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EIn this illustration, molecules move from the sample into a liquid through favorable molecular interactions, representing the gentler of the two extraction processes examined in the study. \u003Cem\u003EImage courtesy of Analytical Chemistry.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1792695570","gmt_created":"2026-10-22 18:59:30","changed":"1792695570","gmt_changed":"2026-10-22 18:59:30","alt":"Illustration of blue liquid droplets interacting with molecules on the surface of a biological sample.","file":{"fid":"265932","name":"_0001_CoverArtV4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/22\/_0001_CoverArtV4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/22\/_0001_CoverArtV4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":159942,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/22\/_0001_CoverArtV4.jpg?itok=K6o9kuhx"}}},"media_ids":["681519","681520"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"98751","name":"College of Engineering; George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshlie Bowman | Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"693061":{"#nid":"693061","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Hosts Macro-Energy Systems Workshop","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents, researchers, and energy professionals from across North America and Europe gathered at Georgia Tech Aug. 13\u0026nbsp;\u2013\u0026nbsp;14 for the fourth Macro-Energy Systems (MES) Workshop. The biennial MES workshop is led by the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.macroenergysystems.org\/\u0022\u003EMacro Energy Systems Society\u003C\/a\u003E, which promotes research and education in macro-energy systems and helps translate MES work into policy and practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHosted at the Georgia Tech Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, the workshop was organized by a committee of researchers and practitioners from across the macro-energy systems community. The committee was chaired by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/micah-ziegler\u0022\u003EMicah Ziegler\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe two-day workshop brought together more than 130 participants and featured lightning talks, poster presentations, interactive learning sessions, and keynote addresses that strengthened connections across the macro-energy systems research community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe energy challenges facing society today are increasingly interconnected, and solving them requires a systems-level perspective,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/christine-conwell\u0022\u003EChristine Conwell\u003C\/a\u003E, director of planning and operations at the Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cSupporting events like the MES Workshop, which provides a unique space for academic collaboration and knowledge sharing, aligns with the Strategic Energy Institute\u2019s commitment to advancing research and workforce development that support more resilient and effective energy solutions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe workshop received financial support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which supports research and education in science, technology, engineering, math, and economics. Through its Energy and Environment program, the foundation helps advance interdisciplinary research and collaboration across the macro-energy systems field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Macro-Energy Systems Workshop has become a significant forum for interdisciplinary energy systems researchers to share and discuss their work,\u201d said Evan Michelson, director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sloan.org\/programs\/research\/energy-and-environment\u0022 title=\u0022Original URL:\u0026#13;https:\/\/sloan.org\/programs\/research\/energy-and-environment\u0026#13;\u0026#13;Click to follow link.\u0022\u003EEnergy and Environment\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;program. \u201cWe were especially glad to help ensure participation from early-career researchers spanning a wide range of institutions, providing them access to the collaborations and conversations that will help them develop as scientists.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGraduate students and postdoctoral scholars played a central role in this year\u0027s workshop, presenting research on energy system planning, grid reliability, technology deployment, energy transitions, and policy. Their sessions gave the early-career researchers opportunities to share new approaches to studying large-scale energy systems, interact with faculty and industry experts, refine research ideas, and build collaborations beyond their home institutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis year, we significantly expanded the MES Workshop to include more early-career scholars,\u201d said Ziegler. \u201cThe workshop provides a great opportunity for young researchers to develop ideas, connections, and a better understanding of how to design research to have a positive impact on the world.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe workshop also featured keynote presentations from\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/viterbi.usc.edu\/directory\/faculty\/Sanders\/Kelly\u0022\u003EKelly Sanders\u003C\/a\u003E, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/engineering.dartmouth.edu\/community\/faculty\/erin-mayfield\u0022\u003EErin Mayfield\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor at Dartmouth College\u0027s Thayer School of Engineering. Both speakers discussed insights from their experience contributing to policymaking and highlighted opportunities for energy systems research to inform policy decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInteractive sessions led by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/f276dd8a-0e13-5b66-b4cf-3d2960e01b2d\u0022\u003EMichelle Graff\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0026nbsp;Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy\u003C\/a\u003E encouraged participants to consider how macro-energy systems research can more effectively inform and support policymakers and other decision-makers. Graff developed and facilitated the sessions, with support from\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lafollette.wisc.edu\/people\/edwards-morgan\/\u0022\u003EMorgan Edwards\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor of public affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Micah Ziegler. The first session explored how researchers can identify policy windows and position their work to inform decision-making at the right time. The second focused on matching research to the appropriate audiences and jurisdictions, highlighting opportunities to inform policy at the state and local levels.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents, researchers, and energy professionals from across North America and Europe gathered at Georgia Tech Aug. 13\u0026nbsp;\u2013\u0026nbsp;14 for the fourth Macro-Energy Systems (MES) Workshop. The biennial MES workshop is led by the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.macroenergysystems.org\/\u0022\u003EMacro Energy Systems Society\u003C\/a\u003E, which promotes research and education in macro-energy systems and helps translate MES work into policy and practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHosted at the Georgia Tech Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, the workshop was organized by a committee of researchers and practitioners from across the macro-energy systems community. The committee was chaired by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/micah-ziegler\u0022\u003EMicah Ziegler\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe two-day workshop brought together more than 130 participants and featured lightning talks, poster presentations, interactive learning sessions, and keynote addresses that strengthened connections across the macro-energy systems research community.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech hosted more than 130 students, researchers, and energy professionals for the fourth Macro-Energy Systems Workshop, chaired by Micah Ziegler, to strengthen collaboration across the macro-energy systems community."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-10-04 03:06:47","changed_gmt":"2026-10-04 03:48:12","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681344":{"id":"681344","type":"image","title":"LR-03355-MESArticle.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E2026 MES Workshop Participants at the Kendeda Building for Innovative Design at Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1791083299","gmt_created":"2026-10-04 03:08:19","changed":"1791083299","gmt_changed":"2026-10-04 03:08:19","alt":"2026 MES Workshop Participants at the Kendeda Building for Innovative Design at Georgia Tech ","file":{"fid":"265722","name":"LR-03355-MESArticle.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/03\/LR-03355-MESArticle.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/03\/LR-03355-MESArticle.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3046310,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/03\/LR-03355-MESArticle.jpg?itok=C9SurlQI"}},"681345":{"id":"681345","type":"image","title":"Participants-1787173106475.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EParticipants at the 2026 Macro-Energy Systems Workshop held August 11-13 at Georgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1791083770","gmt_created":"2026-10-04 03:16:10","changed":"1791083770","gmt_changed":"2026-10-04 03:16:10","alt":"Participants at the 2026 Macro-Energy Systems Workshop held August 11-13 at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"265723","name":"Participants-1787173106475.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/03\/Participants-1787173106475.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/03\/Participants-1787173106475.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":909914,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/03\/Participants-1787173106475.jpg?itok=asORm3iu"}},"681346":{"id":"681346","type":"image","title":"ErinMayfield-1787173106297.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EErin Mayfield, assistant professor at Dartmouth College\u0027s Thayer School of Engineering gives a keynote at the 2026 MES Workshop.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1791085386","gmt_created":"2026-10-04 03:43:06","changed":"1791085386","gmt_changed":"2026-10-04 03:43:06","alt":"Erin Mayfield, assistant professor at Dartmouth College\u0027s Thayer School of Engineering gives a keynote at the 2026 MES Workshop","file":{"fid":"265724","name":"ErinMayfield-1787173106297.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/03\/ErinMayfield-1787173106297.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/03\/ErinMayfield-1787173106297.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":369919,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/03\/ErinMayfield-1787173106297.jpg?itok=g_0uhLTE"}},"681347":{"id":"681347","type":"image","title":"KellySanders-1787173106220.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EKelly Sanders, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California gives a keynote at the 2026 MES Workshop\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1791085486","gmt_created":"2026-10-04 03:44:46","changed":"1791085486","gmt_changed":"2026-10-04 03:44:46","alt":"Kelly Sanders, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California gives a keynote at the 2026 MES Workshop","file":{"fid":"265725","name":"KellySanders-1787173106220.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/03\/KellySanders-1787173106220.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/03\/KellySanders-1787173106220.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":394879,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/03\/KellySanders-1787173106220.jpg?itok=EctMBnwL"}}},"media_ids":["681344","681345","681346","681347"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"},{"id":"660398","name":"Sustainability Hub"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E | SEI Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692943":{"#nid":"692943","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Develop Simple Modification to Improve Commercial Resin for Direct Air Capture","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo mitigate climate change, direct air capture of carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) from the atmosphere has emerged as an increasingly attractive option for limiting global warming. But scaling up systems to remove and safely store enough CO\u2082 faces major obstacles, according to researchers at the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey cite climate models estimating that limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius could require removing approximately 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually by 2050, increasing to 20 billion tons per year by 2100. Current DAC systems remove only thousands of tons of CO\u2082 annually.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne challenge is improving the solid sorbents that capture CO\u2082 from ambient air. In collaboration with CarbonCapture Inc., researchers in ChBE have shown that a simple, one-step modification can upgrade a commercial amine resin into a more efficient and durable sorbent for CO\u2082 capture. They \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aeg5572\u0022\u003Epublished their findings\u003C\/a\u003E in \u003Cem\u003EScience Advances\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAchieving economically viable DAC demands major improvements in solid sorbent design and performance,\u201d said study author Professor Christopher W. Jones of ChBE, who noted that the benefits of DAC include its potential scalability, modest land-use requirements, flexibility in plant locations, and access to extensive geological reservoirs for long-term CO\u2082 storage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EImproving a Commercial Sorbent\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJones and his collaborators found a way to improve the performance of Lewatit VP OC 1065, a commercially available resin already considered a benchmark in the DAC field. The material works for DAC because it\u2019s studded with amine groups, which are chemical sites that grab CO\u2082 molecules as air passes through the resin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than design a new sorbent, the researchers built on previous Georgia Tech studies with PPI (poly(propyleneimine)), a polymer that has shown advantages in both CO\u2082 capture and durability. They developed a simple grafting process that grows PPI directly from amine sites already present on the commercial resin, increasing its ability to capture CO\u2082.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe process involved soaking the resin in a small, inexpensive molecule called azetidine along with a small amount of acid, and then heating the mixture for two days.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers found the upgraded resin captured about 75 percent more CO\u2082 than the untreated version under dry conditions that mimic open air, where CO\u2082 makes up only about 400 parts per million of the surrounding gas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe material also performed well under simulated industrial flue-gas conditions, where CO\u2082 is far more concentrated, capturing more than 50 percent more than the untreated resin.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team also tested the resin across temperatures ranging from 25 degrees Celsius down to -20 degrees Celsius and across a wide range of humidity levels. In humid air, the modified resin outperformed the original at every temperature tested, though its advantage disappeared in very cold, dry conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnhancing Durability\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESorbents used in DAC need to survive repeated use, cycling between capturing CO\u2082 and being heated to release it. Amine-based materials are known to degrade over time when exposed to oxygen. But the branched bPPI chains added by the researchers to the sorbent reduced oxidative degradation by about half.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn tests that simulated 150 rounds of capture and release from industrial exhaust, the modified resin held up significantly better than the original material, the researchers found.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese commercial resins are already leading candidates for large-scale carbon capture deployment,\u201d said Arkaprabha Giri, a former postdoctoral researcher in Jones\u2019 lab who is the study\u2019s lead author. \u201cIf we can meaningfully boost their performance with a process this simple, that\u2019s a real opportunity to speed up deployment without waiting on an entirely new generation of materials.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudy co-author Omid Ghaffari Nik, Ph.D., vice president of materials science and process at CarbonCapture Inc., said that bringing down the steep cost of DAC is a crucial goal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe U.S. Department of Energy has set a target of atmospheric CO\u2082 capture and storage at less than $100 per net metric ton, emphasizing the need for innovation in sorbent-based DAC systems,\u201d Nik said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe use of an existing commercial resin and readily available chemicals could offer advantages in eventually scaling up the process, the researchers said. They successfully applied the same method to a second commercial resin, Purolite A110, suggesting the approach isn\u0027t limited to one product.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team has filed a provisional patent and is now working to extend the technique to other amine-based materials, with the aim of scaling the process from lab quantities to the industrial scale.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECITATION: Arkaprabha Giri, UnJin Ryu, Jiaqi Zhang, Opeyemi Ojelade, Wenyang Zhao, Jacob Hoffman, Mark Robertson, Jordi Esp\u00edn, Madison Nichols, Surya Parker, Omid Ghaffari Nik, and Christopher W. Jones, \u0022\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aeg5572\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIn situ\u003C\/em\u003E azetidine polymerization elevates the performance of commercial polymer resin sorbents in carbon dioxide capture\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0022 \u003Cem\u003EScience Advances\u003C\/em\u003E, 2026\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have shown that a simple, one-step modification can upgrade a commercial amine resin into a more efficient and durable sorbent for CO\u2082 capture. They published their findings in \u003Cem\u003EScience Advances\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have shown that a simple, one-step modification can upgrade a commercial amine resin into a more efficient and durable sorbent for CO\u2082 capture"}],"uid":"27271","created_gmt":"2026-09-30 17:10:58","changed_gmt":"2026-09-30 18:20:09","author":"Brad Dixon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681310":{"id":"681310","type":"image","title":"co2clouds.jpg","body":null,"created":"1790788281","gmt_created":"2026-09-30 17:11:21","changed":"1790788281","gmt_changed":"2026-09-30 17:11:21","alt":"Clouds with CO2 spelled in clouds","file":{"fid":"265682","name":"co2clouds.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/30\/co2clouds.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/30\/co2clouds.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2549260,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/30\/co2clouds.jpg?itok=h2DqEjPR"}},"681311":{"id":"681311","type":"image","title":"ChrisJones9-2016.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Christopher W. Jones, the John F. Brock III School Chair of the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1790788372","gmt_created":"2026-09-30 17:12:52","changed":"1790788372","gmt_changed":"2026-09-30 17:12:52","alt":"Chris Jones","file":{"fid":"265683","name":"ChrisJones9-2016.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/30\/ChrisJones9-2016.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/30\/ChrisJones9-2016.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2889986,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/30\/ChrisJones9-2016.jpg?itok=E4P8kWcu"}}},"media_ids":["681310","681311"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1240","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187252","name":"Direct air capture"},{"id":"7508","name":"carbon dioxide"},{"id":"182890","name":"Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere"},{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrad Dixon, braddixon@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["braddixon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692179":{"#nid":"692179","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Center Seeks to Unlock the Science of Turbulence for Energy, Flight, and Discovery","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMost people know turbulence as the force that can make airplane flights bumpy. Scientists recognize it as one of the most important, yet unsolved, problems in physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite decades of research, the chaotic nature of turbulence makes it difficult to predict and control. This challenge impedes more than smoother air travel. Solving the turbulence problem could lead to advances in areas ranging from sustainable energy to training a smarter workforce for the era of artificial intelligence (AI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/nsf-launches-three-new-science-technology-centers-90m\u0022\u003ESTC\u003C\/a\u003E) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tangqi.github.io\/\u0022\u003EQi Tang\u003C\/a\u003E will join the STC for Transformative Explorations in Multi-Physics and Engineering of Scientific Turbulence (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tempest-stc.msu.edu\/\u0022\u003ETEMPEST\u003C\/a\u003E). TEMPEST, launching on Sept. 1, aims to build trustworthy, predictive models of real-world turbulence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang will lead TEMPEST\u2019s modeling and scientific machine learning (ML) efforts. NSF will fund Tang and Georgia Tech with over $1 million from the center\u2019s five-year, $30 million award.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy understanding and predicting turbulence, TEMPEST can unlock new applications, with a focus on fusion energy and national security. The center will also generate long-term research projects with applications in air and space flight, manufacturing, chemistry, and broaden science education and AI fluency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTurbulence has resisted prediction for a century,\u201d said Tang, a faculty member in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Computational Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E (CSE).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSTC TEMPEST aims to develop a unified, predictive science that advances fusion energy, improves hypersonic technologies, and deepens our understanding of how stars created the elements that make up our world and ourselves. For everyday people, the center points toward abundant clean energy and faster, more efficient flight.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETurbulence is the motion of a fluid characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and speed. Turbulent flows can occur across all scales, from interactions between subatomic particles to astrophysical scales, including supernovas, black holes, and cosmic rays.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile turbulent flows are common and occur naturally, scientists still do not fully understand them. Small changes in a turbulent flow can produce dramatically different outcomes. Combined with the countless interactions across multiple scales of time and space, this makes turbulence extraordinarily difficult to predict.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRather than studying individual pieces of this enormously complex problem in isolation, we are bringing together theory, experimentation, computation and artificial intelligence to develop a deeper understanding of turbulence across scales,\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/msutoday.msu.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/nsf-grant-turbulence-research-center\u0022\u003Esaid Michael Murillo\u003C\/a\u003E, an MSU professor and the director of TEMPEST.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur goal is not simply to understand turbulence better, but to make it predictable and controllable in ways that will enable new technologies and scientific discoveries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe NSF TEMPEST award supports students and researchers at Michigan State University,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wire.auburn.edu\/content\/cosam\/2026\/08\/261600-nsf-turbulence-center.php?utm_source=auburn-today\u0026amp;utm_medium=web\u0022\u003EAuburn University\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.web.baylor.edu\/news\/story\/2026\/baylor-astrophysicists-among-partners-30-million-nsf-grant-establish-turbulence\u0022\u003EBaylor University\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/blogs.sjsu.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/sjsu-researchers-join-30m-nsf-science-and-technology-center-to-tackle-turbulence\/\u0022\u003ESan Jos\u00e9 State University\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tamucc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/images\/tamu-cc-researcher-to-be-part-of-nsf-funded-turbulence-research-center.php\u0022\u003ETexas A\u0026amp;M University-Corpus Christi\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nsf-funded-tempest-turbulence-research-center-716372\/\u0022\u003EUniversity of Rochester\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.yale.edu\/2026\/08\/28\/tempest-collaboration-will-take-turbulence\u0022\u003EYale University\u003C\/a\u003E to combine theory, computation, AI techniques, and experimentation to build trustworthy predictive models of real-world turbulence for high-consequence applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditional partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Fusion, and General Atomics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether, TEMPEST researchers will build more accurate and reliable physics-grounded models. The center will test new ideas against real-world observations, then use those results to refine the models.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang contributes expertise in ML, scientific computing, and plasma physics to STC TEMPEST.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarlier this year, Tang received an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/department-energy-award-power-nuclear-research-machine-learning\u0022\u003EEarly Career Research award\u003C\/a\u003E from the Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science. He is using the award to build ML and data science tools that help scientists analyze massive datasets from fusion experiments and simulations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis interdisciplinary approach is intended to move science from understanding why turbulence behaves as it does to predicting how it will behave. Through prediction and simulation, scientists could eventually engineer solutions to control turbulence in real-world scenarios.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe center will make its data and software broadly available and engage the public through museum exhibitions, immersive media, and educational programs that are expected to reach more than 10,000 K-12 students annually. TEMPEST will also help train an AI-fluent scientific workforce prepared to tackle complex problems across disciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne reason I am excited to work in TEMPEST is because it aligns perfectly with our School of CSE mission. As a discipline, CSE complements theory and experimentation as a mode of scientific discovery,\u201d Tang said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe build computational models to simulate scientific and engineering concepts, like turbulence in this case, so that we can test theories that are too difficult, expensive, or risky for physical experiments.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/nsf-launches-three-new-science-technology-centers-90m\u0022\u003ESTC\u003C\/a\u003E) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"To advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (STC) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center."}],"uid":"36319","created_gmt":"2026-09-01 16:21:43","changed_gmt":"2026-09-10 19:00:07","author":"Bryant Wine","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681026":{"id":"681026","type":"image","title":"TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","body":null,"created":"1788279712","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 16:21:52","changed":"1788279712","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 16:21:52","alt":"TEMPEST Supernova","file":{"fid":"265373","name":"TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","mime":"image\/png","size":900620,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png?itok=SqyzW4L4"}},"681027":{"id":"681027","type":"image","title":"Collapsing-Star.png","body":null,"created":"1788281400","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 16:50:00","changed":"1788281400","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 16:50:00","alt":"TEMPEST Collapsing Star","file":{"fid":"265375","name":"Collapsing-Star.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png","mime":"image\/png","size":169940,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png?itok=GAu9n5Pu"}}},"media_ids":["681026","681027"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"194685","name":"Manufacturing"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"194610","name":"National Interests\/National Security"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166983","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"9167","name":"machine learning"},{"id":"170447","name":"Institute for Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"195119","name":"applied physics"},{"id":"4079","name":"astrophysics"},{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace engineering"},{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39461","name":"Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics"},{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"193657","name":"Space Research Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBryant Wine, Communications Officer\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691421":{"#nid":"691421","#data":{"type":"news","title":"SRNL, Georgia Tech Announce Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez\u0027s Joint Faculty Appointment","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis press release is \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.srnl.gov\/news-releases\/srnl-georgia-tech-announce-joint-appointment\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eshared jointly\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) newsroom. Georgia Tech faculty \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/martha-grover\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMartha Grover\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E and \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/inta.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/margaret-e-kosal\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMaggie Kosal\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E also serve as SRNL Joint Appointees.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.srnl.gov\u0022\u003ESavannah River National Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E announced the joint appointment of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/facundo-m-fernandez\u0022\u003EFacundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez\u003C\/a\u003E to collaborate in research around mass spectrometry, an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions for research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur partnership with Facundo will deepen SRNL\u2019s innovative research in mass spectrometry and its groundbreaking applications,\u201d said Tammy Taylor, SRNL\u2019s deputy director of Science and Technology. \u201cHis expertise and collaboration will undoubtedly accelerate our lab\u2019s drive for scientific excellence and impactful discoveries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFern\u00e1ndez is renowned internationally for his work in bioanalytical chemistry. His research focuses on developing tools to analyze small-volume samples, tissues and single cells, with applications in understanding diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and inflammatory bowel disease. He has published 234 peer-reviewed papers, given over 230 invited lectures, and supervised 35 doctoral and master\u2019s degree students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe also directs the Systems Mass Spectrometry Core (SyMS-C) at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E, managing more than 15 mass spectrometers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBeing appointed as a joint faculty member with SRNL opens many new opportunities for collaborative research at the intersection of biology, chemistry and engineering,\u201d said Fern\u00e1ndez. \u201cThis type of collaborative research is what Georgia Tech is renowned for. We aim to address societal questions with global impact. I have been incredibly impressed with the quality of science at SRNL, and I look forward to many joint discoveries in the future.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFern\u00e1ndez is a Regents\u2019 Professor and the Vasser-Woolley Chair in Bioanalytical Chemistry at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E. He earned his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees (Licenciatura) in chemistry from the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, in 1995, and his doctorate in analytical chemistry from the same university in 1999. From 2000 to 2001, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University\u2019s Department of Chemistry. He served as a senior postdoctoral researcher and later as a research scientist between 2002 and 2003 with a research group at the University of Arizona.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cProfessor Fern\u00e1ndez is a renowned expert in the field of mass spectrometry, and it has been a privilege to already have him as a collaborator involved in our Laboratory Directed Research and Development program,\u201d said SRNL\u2019s Christopher Orton, division director for Nuclear Nonproliferation. \u201cThis joint appointment will strengthen the relationship between SRNL and Georgia Tech as we continue to work together to improve our understanding of the environmental fate of chemical contaminants in complex matrices.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESRNL\u2019s Joint Appointment Program provides university faculty opportunities to engage in research and development addressing the nation\u2019s energy related challenges.\u0026nbsp;SRNL staff and joint appointees help ensure America\u2019s security and prosperity through transformative science and technology solutions, and joint appointees serve as a bridge between their university and SRNL researchers to deliver the future workforce for the Department of Energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESavannah River National Laboratory is a multi-program federally funded research and development center managed and\u202foperated\u202fby Battelle Savannah River Alliance for the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Environmental Management.\u0026nbsp;EM transforms the nation\u2019s environmental liabilities into opportunities for innovation, job creation, and economic growth, while ensuring safe,\u0026nbsp;secure\u0026nbsp;and prosperous communities across America. For more information, visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/em\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eenergy.gov\/em\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERegents\u0027 Professor Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez will collaborate on research in mass spectrometry, an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions for research.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Regents\u0027 Professor Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez will collaborate on research in mass spectrometry, an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions for research."}],"uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2026-08-03 19:30:39","changed_gmt":"2026-08-05 15:05:11","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680767":{"id":"680767","type":"image","title":"Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez","body":null,"created":"1785785680","gmt_created":"2026-08-03 19:34:40","changed":"1785785680","gmt_changed":"2026-08-03 19:34:40","alt":"Headshot of Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez","file":{"fid":"265079","name":"Facundo-M.-Fernandez.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/03\/Facundo-M.-Fernandez.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/03\/Facundo-M.-Fernandez.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3793710,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/03\/Facundo-M.-Fernandez.jpeg?itok=RytQSfyY"}}},"media_ids":["680767"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/fernandezmslab.com","title":"The Fern\u00e1ndez Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"186513","name":"SRNL"},{"id":"186512","name":"Savannah River National Laboratory"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690894":{"#nid":"690894","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Discover Membrane-Based Approach to More Sustainable Oil Refining","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERefining crude oil into gasoline, jet fuel, and other everyday products requires enormous amounts of energy. The atmospheric and vacuum distillation processes used in refineries worldwide consume more than 1,100 terawatt-hours of energy annually \u2014 roughly enough to power 100 million U.S. homes for a year \u2014 while generating millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESix years after demonstrating that membranes could separate crude oil at the molecular level, Georgia Tech researcher Ryan Lively is part of an international team that has taken the concept a significant step further.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team, including investigators at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), discovered that a membrane material widely believed to be non-selective for molecules as small as those found in crude can in fact selectively separate crude oil into lighter and heavier fractions in a way researchers did not expect.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPublished in \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-026-10677-3\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Etheir findings\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E suggest that using membranes to separate crude oil before distillation could significantly reduce the energy, water, and carbon footprint of petroleum refining.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lively.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELively\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the Thomas C. DeLoach Jr. Endowed Professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, served as an advisor and corresponding author on the study. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pure.kaist.ac.kr\/en\/persons\/dong-yeun-koh\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDong-Yeun Koh\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor at KAIST and a former postdoc in the Lively Lab at Georgia Tech, led the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuilding on Earlier Research\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the 2020 \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E paper, Lively and collaborators demonstrated that specially designed membranes could separate crude oil into valuable fractions without relying solely on traditional heat-driven distillation. The work helped establish membrane-based crude oil fractionation as a promising alternative for reducing energy use in refining.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This work grew directly out of the challenges we identified in our original findings in the 2020 article,\u0022 Lively said. \u0022One of the key challenges that the KAIST team set out to tackle was the very low oil productivities of the membrane units, which has limited the ability of this concept to leave the lab. Along the way, we not only increased the productivities, but we also uncovered a surprising new mechanism that could make membrane-based crude oil separations even more practical.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new study built on that foundation. The researchers investigated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes, a material commonly used as a non-selective support layer in filtration systems. Because the material is porous, the team generally did not expect it to perform precise molecular separations on its own.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut what they found surprised them, Lively said. As crude oil flowed through the membrane, heavier hydrocarbon molecules accumulated within the membrane\u0027s pores. Instead of clogging the membrane, the buildup created a stable internal layer that gradually narrowed the pathways through which molecules could travel. Surprisingly, the molecules that caused the buildup in the first place were eventually excluded from entering the membrane, resulting in a steady production of higher quality oil through the narrow pathways that remained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn effect, the membrane created its own molecular-scale filter. The result was a process that allowed lighter hydrocarbons to pass through while holding back heavier components.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe membrane enriched lighter fractions such as naphtha and kerosene while achieving crude oil flow rates more than 23 times higher those reported in the 2020 paper for whole crude oils\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhen Buildup Becomes an Asset\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn most filtration systems, buildup inside a membrane (or fouling) is considered a problem because it reduces performance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut according to the researchers, this study demonstrates that something different can happen under the right conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing a range of analytical techniques, the researchers found that long-chain hydrocarbon molecules accumulated inside the membrane and became an essential part of the separation process. The deposits effectively transformed larger pores into stable transport pathways measuring less than two nanometers across, they deduced based on available experimental evidence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe membrane maintained consistent separation performance during four weeks of continuous operation, suggesting the filtration pathways remained stable over time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe findings challenge traditional assumptions about membrane fouling and may offer new opportunities for designing industrial separation systems that take advantage of similar behavior,\u201d Lively said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPotential Impact on Refining\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday\u0027s refineries heat entire streams of crude oil to separate them into useful products. By using membranes to remove a substantial portion of the lighter hydrocarbons before distillation, refineries could reduce the amount of material that must undergo energy-intensive heating. Alternatively, the refinery can use the membranes to incrementally increase refinery capacity, which is currently not possible using large-scale distillation equipment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo evaluate the potential impacts of the membrane system, the researchers modeled a refinery process that incorporated a membrane separation step before conventional distillation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis study reveals a new scientific principle in which a membrane interacts with a complex mixture and spontaneously forms its own separation channels,\u0022 Koh said. \u0022Working with real crude oil supplied by HD Hyundai Oilbank allowed us to validate the technology under conditions relevant to industrial operation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team\u0027s technoeconomic analysis showed that incorporating the membrane process could reduce distillation energy use by 30%, carbon dioxide emissions by 35%, and water consumption by 20%.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EApplied across U.S. atmospheric crude distillation capacity \u2014 about 18 million barrels per day \u2014 those savings would be equivalent to powering roughly 2.2 million homes, removing about 3 million passenger vehicles from the road, and supplying enough water for approximately 660,000 people each year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Turning crude oil into useful products has relied on essentially the same basic approach for more than a century,\u0022 Lively said. \u0022Membranes offer a path toward achieving those separations with dramatically lower energy requirements and emissions.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study\u0027s findings also suggest that the phenomenon may not be limited to a single membrane chemistry. Researchers observed similar behavior in a second membrane material, raising the possibility that the approach could be extended to other membrane systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This is a terrific piece of research that rewards curiosity,\u0022 said Andrew LIvington, vice president of research and innovation and professor at Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved with the study. \u0022This work adds significantly to the field of membrane separations of crude oil streams as it tackles the first, hard to achieve separation of heavy hydrocarbons \u2013 most work to date has focused on lighter oils\u0026nbsp;\u2013 and it uses a simple and readily available membrane.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJihoon Choi, Hyeokjun Seo, Minyong Lee, Woong-Chul Shin, Jaemin Choi, Keonwoo Choi, Min-Jun Jang, Sung Gap Im, Jae W. Lee, Ryan P. Lively, and Dong-Yeun Koh, \u0022\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-026-10677-3\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECrude oil fractionation by means of mesoporous polyacrylonitrile membranes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0022 \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, 2026.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPublished in \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, the researchers\u0027 findings suggest that using membranes to separate crude oil before distillation could significantly reduce the energy, water, and carbon footprint of petroleum refining.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Published in Nature, the researchers\u0027 findings suggest that using membranes to separate crude oil before distillation could significantly reduce the energy, water, and carbon footprint of petroleum refining."}],"uid":"27271","created_gmt":"2026-06-24 15:45:46","changed_gmt":"2026-07-06 17:19:42","author":"Brad Dixon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680502":{"id":"680502","type":"image","title":"RyanDong-Yeun.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EProfessors Ryan Lively (Georgia Tech) and Dong-Yeun Koh (KAIST). Koh used to be postdoctoral researcher in the Lively Lab.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782316293","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 15:51:33","changed":"1782316293","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 15:51:33","alt":"Professors Ryan Lively (Georgia Tech) and Dong-Yeun Koh (KAIST). Koh used to be postdoctoral researcher in the Lively Lab.","file":{"fid":"264775","name":"RyanDong-Yeun.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/RyanDong-Yeun.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/RyanDong-Yeun.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":190547,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/RyanDong-Yeun.jpg?itok=-eLTFUXj"}},"680503":{"id":"680503","type":"image","title":"PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESchematic illustration of the membrane-based pre-fractionation process, showing the selective separation of light hydrocarbon fractions from crude oil feedstock to reduce energy requirements for subsequent atmospheric distillation.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782316323","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 15:52:03","changed":"1782316323","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 15:52:03","alt":"Schematic illustration of the membrane-based pre-fractionation process, showing the selective separation of light hydrocarbon fractions from crude oil feedstock to reduce energy requirements for subsequent atmospheric distillation.","file":{"fid":"264776","name":"PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":84713,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg?itok=6Y4qawLU"}},"680504":{"id":"680504","type":"image","title":"PAN-Crude.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPhotographs illustrating the distinct color change upon fractionation of crude oils via PAN membrane.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782316357","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 15:52:37","changed":"1782316357","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 15:52:37","alt":"Photographs illustrating the distinct color change upon fractionation of crude oils via PAN membrane.","file":{"fid":"264777","name":"PAN-Crude.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":141397,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude.jpg?itok=9_uTRAtb"}}},"media_ids":["680502","680503","680504"],"groups":[{"id":"372221","name":"Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"11764","name":"filtration"},{"id":"2177","name":"membranes"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"188020","name":"go-rbi"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrad Dixon, \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:braddixon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebraddixon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["braddixon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690623":{"#nid":"690623","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Rising From the Ashes: A Hidden Supply of Critical Elements","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/anujatripathi\/\u0022\u003EAnuja Tripathi\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003Egrew up in Kanpur, India, where coal fly ash from a nearby power plant coated rooftops, windowsills, and laundry hung outside to dry.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI used to see ash settling on our terrace from time to time and thought it was just waste,\u201d Tripathi said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYears later, at Georgia Tech, Tripathi started looking at that ash differently. What once appeared to be ordinary industrial waste became the focal point for her work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a postdoctoral researcher in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ethe School of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, Tripathi, along with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chuang.ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EChing-Hua Huang, Turnipseed Family Chair and Professor\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/xing-xie\u0022\u003EXing Xie, Carlton S. Wilder Assistant Professor\u003C\/a\u003E, both in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, developed a method to recover rare earth elements from coal fly ash.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERare earth elements (REEs) help power electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, MRI machines, smartphones, and defense systems because of their unusually strong magnetic and electrical properties. Despite the name, most REEs are not actually rare in quantity. They\u2019re rare in concentration. REEs are scattered through the Earth\u2019s crust in amounts too small to mine easily, and much of their global supply chain remains concentrated outside of the United States.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat imbalance has turned REEs into both an economic and national security concern. Countries are competing for the materials sustaining advanced manufacturing, energy systems, and military technologies, increasing pressure to find domestic sources. That urgency has pushed researchers like Tripathi, Huang, and Xie to look at coal fly ash differently: not just as industrial waste but as a potential source of materials that modern technology depends on.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECoal naturally contains trace amounts of rare earth elements. Burning the coal concentrates those elements in the ash left behind.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETripathi developed a method for extracting rare earth elements that avoids the corrosive chemicals used in conventional extraction. The same ash that once coated her rooftop could now become a secondary domestic source of critical materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EMining What Was Left Behind\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECoal fly ash already exists in enormous quantities across the United States. About 2 billion tons are stored in impoundments, such as storage ponds and landfills, according to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2024-04\/Coal%20Factsheet_4.18.24.pdf\u0022\u003EDepartment of Energy\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose sites require long-term monitoring because coal fly ash can release contaminants into soil and groundwater. Major storms can also damage storage sites and spread the material into surrounding communities and waterways.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInside that ash, REEs are dispersed in tiny concentrations. Recovering them is a challenge; recovering them cleanly is an even greater one. Many existing recovery methods rely on concentrated acids, large amounts of water, or extreme heat during extraction. Some techniques require temperatures high enough to rival industrial furnaces. Others create additional waste streams.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETripathi and her team wanted a different approach.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey built the system around a recyclable ionic liquid, a salt-based substance stable enough to operate under conditions that would break down water-based systems. The liquid pulls rare earth elements away from the ash. An applied electrical current then causes the recovered elements to collect onto a surface where they can be removed. Afterward, the liquid can be cleaned and reused.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cThe beauty of this system is that it works beyond the limits of water,\u201d Tripathi said.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cThe ionic liquid allows us to recover rare earth elements under conditions that water-based systems just can\u2019t handle.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe process also changes depending on the voltage applied. At lower voltages, the system selectively recovers neodymium, an REE used in high-strength permanent magnets found in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defense systems. At higher voltages, it recovers a broader mixture. The system recovered nearly half of the available neodymium during testing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EBeyond Coal Ash\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETripathi has shown that the chemistry works in small batches. The next challenge is scale: whether the system can recover enough rare earth elements efficiently enough to make the process commercially practical.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe same approach could extend beyond coal fly ash. Batteries, discarded electronics, and medical waste all contain valuable metals that often end up buried in landfills or destroyed during disposal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Tripathi, the idea began at home, where fly ash would settle on her terrace. What once seemed like an ordinary nuisance could help reshape how critical materials are recovered from waste.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ETripathi\u2019s research is published in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/10.1021\/acs.est.5c16688\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EEnvironmental Science and Technology.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIt was supported by the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/\u0022\u003EU.S. Department of Energy\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers turn a widespread waste product into materials that power modern technology."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researcher Anuja Tripathi developed a method to recover rare earth elements from coal ash using a recyclable ionic liquid and electricity. The process could turn a major waste product into a domestic source of critical materials used in technologies ranging from electric vehicles to MRI machines.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers turn a widespread waste product into materials that power modern technology."}],"uid":"36410","created_gmt":"2026-06-03 18:15:40","changed_gmt":"2026-06-16 13:27:30","author":"mazriel3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680412":{"id":"680412","type":"image","title":"Anuja Tripathi","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAnuja Tripathi works in a lab developing an energy and environmentally friendly method for extracting rare earth elements from coal fly ash.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1780509434","gmt_created":"2026-06-03 17:57:14","changed":"1780510271","gmt_changed":"2026-06-03 18:11:11","alt":"Anuja Tripathi works in the lab","file":{"fid":"264669","name":"Anuja_lab.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/03\/Anuja_lab.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/03\/Anuja_lab.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":227470,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/03\/Anuja_lab.jpeg?itok=tBlE3N82"}}},"media_ids":["680412"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10960","name":"chemical engieering"},{"id":"4776","name":"civil and environmental engineering"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichelle Azriel\u003Cbr\u003ESenior Research Writer \u2013 Editor\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr\u003Emazriel3@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mazriel3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690386":{"#nid":"690386","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Vida Jamali Receives the Inaugural Dr. James Robert and Margaret Spencer Early Career Fellowship","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor Vida Jamali is the inaugural recipient of the new Dr. James Robert and Margaret Spencer Early Career Fellowship in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE@GT).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHer outstanding research accomplishments and contributions to the School and Georgia Tech led to this selection,\u201d said Professor Christopher W. Jones, the John F. Brock III School Chair in ChBE@GT.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe $20,000 in discretionary funding from this one-year fellowship will support \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/vidajamali.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJamali\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u2019s research activities focused on developing new tools for \u003Cem\u003Ein situ\u003C\/em\u003E liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy, stochastic thermodynamics, and nanoscience-based platforms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Spencers established the endowment from which the term fellowship funding comes in 2017. This endowment will eventually lead to the establishment of a professorship in ChBE@GT.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBob Spencer is a successful alumnus who has remained connected to our chemical engineering program,\u201d according to Jones. \u201cHis family\u2019s gift will allow ChBE@GT to support an early career professor at a critical stage of their development\u2014the crucial years just before their promotion and tenure review. We are grateful for their support and generosity.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/vida-jamali-receives-inaugural-dr-james-robert-and-margaret-spencer-early-career\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the ChBE Newspage\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor Vida Jamali is the inaugural recipient of the new Dr. James Robert and Margaret Spencer Early Career Fellowship in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE@GT).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHer outstanding research accomplishments and contributions to the School and Georgia Tech led to this selection,\u201d said Professor Christopher W. Jones, the John F. Brock III School Chair in ChBE@GT.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe $20,000 in discretionary funding from this one-year fellowship will support \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/vidajamali.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJamali\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u2019s research activities focused on developing new tools for \u003Cem\u003Ein situ\u003C\/em\u003E liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy, stochastic thermodynamics, and nanoscience-based platforms.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Assistant Professor Vida Jamali is the inaugural recipient of the new Dr. James Robert and Margaret Spencer Early Career Fellowship in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE@GT)."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-05-19 20:50:46","changed_gmt":"2026-05-19 20:54:42","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680322":{"id":"680322","type":"image","title":"vida_image_0.jpeg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EVida Jamali, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1779223851","gmt_created":"2026-05-19 20:50:51","changed":"1779223851","gmt_changed":"2026-05-19 20:50:51","alt":"Vida Jamali, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"264569","name":"vida_image_0.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/19\/vida_image_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/19\/vida_image_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":30687,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/19\/vida_image_0.jpeg?itok=tgpG-de0"}}},"media_ids":["680322"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:braddixon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrad Dixon\u003C\/a\u003E, ChBE\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["braddixon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}