Elizabeth M. Y. Lee, who is part of IRG-1 and SEED of CCAM, has received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award, one of the most prestigious honors for early-career faculty. The NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program supports early-career faculty with the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in their field. The five-year grant will support Lee’s work to develop novel computational tools to simulate chemical reactions at hard–soft matter interfaces — such as the interaction between polymer materials and metal surfaces. By leveraging innovative methods based on ab initio simulations, machine learning, and molecular thermodynamics, Lee and her research group, the Computational Engineering of Materials Interfaces (CeMi) Lab, will investigate the fundamental mechanisms behind depolymerization reactions with metal catalysts. This research holds promise for revolutionizing the upcycling of polyolefins, the most common class of plastic, into valuable chemical products — a key step toward a more sustainable, circular economy. Recognizing the growing need for computational modeling and machine learning skills, the award also aims to prepare the next generation of the workforce with technical skills applicable in both academia and industry.
Congratulations to Elizabeth Lee on Receiving the NSF CAREER Award!
