Julie Rorrer
Assistant professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
Clean energy, Engineering and design
Web / Pronouns: she/her
Expertise: Sustainable chemistry, chemical recycling of waste plastics, biofuels, reaction engineering
The Rorrer lab specializes in using catalysts to convert waste materials into value-added chemicals and fuels. The catalysts are solid materials that are not consumed during reactions and are designed to speed up chemical reactions, lowering the energy requirements for chemical production and improving the quality of the products. Ongoing work in the Rorrer lab includes converting waste plastics into high-quality fuels, lubricants and raw material for the synthesis of pristine plastics, and converting molecules from waste biomass into fuels and chemicals. Prof. Rorrer is also the founder of ColorMePhD, an ongoing series of free coloring pages that explain doctorate-level research to a non-technical audience.
