Striving for global sustainability: Where are we and where do we go from here
April 16th, 2024
Thomas F. Jamarillo
Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University Dept. of Energy Science Engineering, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Photon Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Senior Fellow, Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford UniversityDirector, SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis
Thomas Francisco Jaramillo is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and of Energy Science Engineering at Stanford University, along with a faculty appointment in Photon Science at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He serves as Director of the SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, a joint partnership between Stanford and SLAC. Prof. Jaramillo's research efforts are aimed at developing catalyst materials and new processes to improve sustainability in the energy and chemical sectors. A key emphasis is engineering catalyst materials at the nano- and atomic-scale to induce desired properties, and then on designing and developing new technologies that employ them. Examples include solar- and wind-powered processes to convert water, N2, and CO2 into valuable molecular products such as hydrogen (H2), ammonia-based fertilizers, and carbon-based products (e.g. fuels, plastics) for use in transportation, agriculture, energy storage, and in the chemical industry, among others. The overarching theme is the development of cost-effective, clean energy technologies that can benefit society and provide for economic growth in a sustainable manner. Prof. Jaramillo has authored over 200 publications in the peer-reviewed literature in these areas and has earned a number of honors and awards for his efforts. Honors include the Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis (2021) from the North American Catalysis Society, the Resonate Award (2014) from the Resnick Institute, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists & Engineers (PECASE, 2011), the U.S. Dept. of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Program Research & Development Award (2011), the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award (2011), and the Mohr-Davidow Ventures (MDV) Innovator Award (2009). Prof. Jaramillo is on the annual list of Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate Analytics, ranking in the top 1% by citations (2018-present). Professor Jaramillo is from Carolina, Puerto Rico, earning a BS in chemical engineering at Stanford University and MS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He then pursued post-doctoral research as the Hans Christian Ørsted Postdoctoral Fellow at the Technical University of Denmark, Department of Physics, prior to joining the Stanford faculty.
