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.

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 is 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, sense of belonging, and community engagement in STEM. Read more about Chris' postdoc position, and visit his personal website for more information: https://www.christorresphd.com/ 

Leo received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University in the Fanxing Li group where he worked on a number of perovskite-based chemical looping applications including sorption-enhanced steam reforming, oxidative dehydrogenation, and oxidative coupling reactions. Here in the Rorrer Lab, Leo is working on an ARPA-E IGNIITE project centered on developing an adaptive catalytic reactor for converting plastic waste feedstocks into liquid organic hydrogen carriers. When not in the lab, Leo enjoys learning foreign languages, SCUBA diving, and playing blitz chess.

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.  Her PhD work is centered on hydrogen-free depolymerization of waste plastics and design of automated product analysis platforms. 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.  Her PhD project is centered on the synthesis and characterization of earth-abundant bi-metallic catalysts for plastic upcycling. 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. 

Tata received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah in 2024, where he worked on sustainable blended fuels for entrained-flow gasification. He has received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to support his PhD studies at the University of Washington.  His PhD project is centered on the chemical upcycling of waste polystyrene. Tata is dedicated to advancing engineering education and is involved with K-12 education divisions at ASEE and AIChE 

Franklin Guevara received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 2024, where he assisted in electrochemical catalysis research for ORR and CO2R reactions. He is a first generation, low income student passionate about sustainability and advocating for historically underrepresented groups in STEM. His PhD project is centered on the use of bio-based carbon supports to synthesis dispersed metal catalysts for plastic degradation. In his free time, he enjoys trying new restaurants, cooking, and reading.

Daven Rikhof

Undergraduate Student Researcher

Joined Winter 2023

Daven is a fourth year pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. He is interested in applying chemical engineering to solve environmental challenges. His research is centered on investigating the effect of additives and mixed plastic waste on catalytic depolymerization to value-added products. In his free time, he enjoys 3d modeling, building LEGO, as well as playing board games, Magic the Gathering, and role playing games.

Evelyn is a fourth year pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. She is interested in a future in sustainable engineering. Her research is centered on the use of model compounds for mixed plastic upcycling. 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.

Jamie is a third 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 is 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.

Kyle Smith

Undergraduate Student Researcher

Joined Fall 2024

Kyle is a fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and is the Lead Chemistry Tutor as part of the Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment (CLUE) at the University of Washington. His plans to use chemical engineering to create new green chemistry practices and improve energy systems. In the Rorrer Lab, he is investigating the chemical recycling of polystyrene. Outside of academics, he loves to cook (and eat), read, hang out with his pet lizard Plopper, skateboard, and play Magic the Gathering. He wants everyone to know that they really do belong here, and to other undergraduate students at the University of Washington to come to CLUE for a student-operated space that provides community, free tutoring, and support for those experiencing hard times and difficult classes.

Lauren is a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. She is passionate about sustainability and advancements in clean energy technology. In the Rorrer Lab, she studies the recoverability of heterogeneous magnetic nanoparticle catalysts for the chemical upcycling of waste plastics and biofuels. Lauren is an executive member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the Chem-E-Car organizations on campus. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her cat, skiing, fishing, and golfing.