Education

• Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
• B.S. Chemical Engineering, Arizona State University

Previous appointments

• Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research Statement

The Rorrer Lab leverages tunable heterogeneous catalytic systems to enable sustainable chemical transformations including the chemical upcycling of waste plastics, and catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived platform molecules. By developing targeted active catalytic sites to enable new chemical transformations and leveraging advanced characterization techniques, we aim to advance the field of renewable and sustainable chemical production, shifting away from fossil fuel consumption and mitigating the detrimental environmental effects of waste plastics.

Select publications

1. Rorrer, J.E.; Ebrahim, A.M.; Questell-Santiago, Y.; Zhu, J.; Troyano-Valls, C.; Asundi, A.S.; Brenner, A.E.; Bare, S.R.; Tassone, C.J.; Beckham, G.T.; Román-Leshkov, Y. “Selective Conversion of Polyolefin Waste to Liquid Hydrocarbons over Bifunctional Ru/Acid Catalysts.” ACS Catalysis (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.2c03596
2. Zichittella, G.; Ebrahim, A.E.; Zhu, J.; Brenner, A.E.; Beckham, G.T.; Bare, S.R.; Rorrer, J.E.* Yuriy Román-Leshkov,* “Hydrogenolysis of Polyethylene and Polypropylene into Propane over Cobalt-Based Catalysts,” JACS Au (2022). *co-corresponding author. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.2c00402
3. Nicholson, S.;* Rorrer, J.E.;* Singh, A.*; Konev, M.O.; Carpenter, A.C.; Rorrer, N.A.; Jacobsen, A.J.; Román-Leshkov, Y.; Beckham, G.T., “The critical role of process analysis in chemical recycling and upcycling of waste plastics,” Annual Reviews in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (2022) 13:301-324. *equal contribution
4. Rorrer, J.E.; Beckham, G.T.; Roman-Leshkov, Y.; “Conversion of Polyolefin Waste to Liquid Alkanes with Ru-Based Catalysts under Mild Conditions,” JACS Au (2021) 1:1, 8-12.
5. Rorrer, J.E.; Bell, A.T.; Toste, F.D.; “Mechanism and Kinetics of Isobutene Formation from Ethanol and Acetone over ZnxZryOz.” ACS Catalysis (2019) 9:12, 10588-10604.
6. Rorrer, J.E.; Bell, A.T.; Toste, F.D.; “Synthesis of Biomass-Derived Ethers for Use as Fuels and Lubricants.” ChemSusChem (2019) 12, 2835-2858.

Honors & awards

• Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2021)
• Early Career Achievement Alumni Award, ASU Barrett Gold Standard Awards (2021)
• Mara H. Wasburn Early Engineering Educator Award (2019)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) (2016)
• Outstanding Graduate in Chemical Engineering, Arizona State University (2014)

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