Kathleen’s long-range research goals are to use her knowledge and engineering background to have a positive impact on the environment and create technology for a carbon neutral/carbon negative future.

Research Interests

Optimization of catalytic materials for the conversion of biomass into fuels and other useful products

Catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass to transportation fuels

Surface chemistry of catalytic materials

Areas of Expertise

Catalytic fast pyrolysis

Operation of reactor systems

Characterization of bio-oil

Heterogeneous catalysis

Physical and chemical characterization of catalytic materials

Education

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder

Professional Experience

Heterogeneous Catalysis Research Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2019–present)

Reactor Operations for Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Intern, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2018)

Bioenergy and Fermentation Intern, White Dog Labs (2015)

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Please contact Josh Schaidle or me with research questions, ideas for collaborations, and questions about heterogeneous catalysis and catalytic fast pyrolysis projects at NREL. Please do NOT contact me directly for jobs—see instead information on NREL's Director's Postdoctoral Fellowship program or on NREL Careers in general.