Members

We are growing! Interested in joining our team? Check out our available positions.

Assistant Professor, UW-Seattle

Department of Chemical Engineering

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 Hancock

Ph.D. Student, Chemical Engineering

Joined Fall 2022

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 Soltani

Ph.D. Student, Chemical Engineering

Joined Fall 2022

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

Clean Energy Institute Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow

Joined Fall 2023

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 Clark

Undergraduate Student

Joined Winter 2024

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 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 Erickson

Undergraduate Student

Joined Winter 2023

Evelyn is a fourth 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.

Daven Rikhof

Undergraduate Student

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. In the Rorrer lab, he will be working 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.

Kyle Smith

Undergraduate Student

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.

Snickers

Cat-alysis Assistant

Adopted Winter 2020

Alumni

Audrey Harveaux

Summer 2024 CEBR Researcher

Audrey is a second year pursuing an Associate of Science for Transfer at Yakima Valley College. She is interested in the different aspects of Chemical Engineering and how to apply them to solve real world problems. In the Rorrer Lab, she worked with PhD student Maddie on catalysts for plastic upcycling as part of the University of Washington Clean Energy Bridge to Research (CEBR) Program. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, reading, and dabbling in mixed media art.

Nyomi Douglas

Summer 2024 LSAMP Researcher

Nyomi Douglas was born in raised in Washington, and is newer to the Seattle Area. She is currently a student at Seattle Colleges, and is planning to study for a bachelor's degree in biochemistry after completing a few more classes. Her project, mentored by postdoc Chris was centered on investigating the relationship between catalyst structures and activity for alkane hydrogenolysis through the LSAMP summer research program. She loves gardening, hiking, photography, and hanging on with her kittens.