Members

Dr. Julie Rorrer is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. Her research is centered on sustainable heterogenous catalysis. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University in 2014, and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2019.  Prior to UW, she was an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow in chemical engineering at MIT. Read more.

Julia received her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah in 2022, where she assisted in nanomaterials and diagnostics research, before coming to UW to pursue a PhD as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow. She is passionate about community outreach, sustainability, and education. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, cooking, and going to the beach.

Maddie graduated from Washington State University in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Science  in Chemical Engineering. During undergrad, she did research on heterogeneous catalysis and worked mainly with perovskites with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions and turning them into useful products.  During her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and going out, or staying in and watching movies all day. Her hobbies also include playing chess and painting. 

Dr. Chris Torres is a Clean Energy Institute Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as an Alfred P. Sloan Scholar and an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, where his thesis work was focused on the chemical kinetics of liquid-phase oxidations by manipulating solvent-surface interactions. At the UW, Chris will be working to develop self-sustainable community outreach programs to advance under-represented Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous (BHI) populations by investigating connections between art, science communication, and community engagement in STEM. Read more. 

Jamie is a second year pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. She is focused on exploring how chemical engineering can play an important role in addressing environmental and sustainable issues. In the Rorrer lab, she will be investigating the ketalization of biomass-derived molecules to produce sustainable biofuel additives and reduce carbon emissions. In her free time, she likes to explore new parts of Seattle with friends, find new plants to add to her collection, and unwind by listening to Taylor Swift.

Evelyn is a third year pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. She is interested in a future in sustainable engineering. She is involved with Engineers Without Borders and the Society of Women Engineers  at the University of Washington. In her free time, she loves to go thrift shopping, try new coffee shops, listen to music, and play hackysack with friends.