Zachary P. Smith

Recent discoveries of new materials have provided an opportunity to transform the chemicals industry using non-thermal, membrane-based separations. The key challenge is controlling the microstructure of these new materials at length scales appropriate for gas, liquid, and ion-based separations.

This talk will highlight recent advances in leveraging microporous materials, such as polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), to access new regimes of separation performance for gases and solvents. A key focus will be the stability of metastable materials under complex molecular mixtures and the importance of studying materials in relevant chemical environments. Additionally, a brief introduction to the theory underlying membrane separation performance limitations will be provided to highlight how chemical engineering principles can be coupled with materials science to address some of the global challenges in separations today.

Zachary P. Smith is the Edwin G. Roos (1944) Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. He has been recognized with several awards, including the DOE Early Career Award, NSF CAREER Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, AIChE 35 Under 35 Award, AIChE Kunesh Award for Separations, and the North American Membrane Society Young Membrane Scientist Award. He was also awarded the Frank E. Perkins Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising at MIT.

Prof. Smith serves on the Board of Directors and as President of the North American Membrane Society. He is an Associate Editor for Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research and a co-founder and Chief Scientist of Osmoses Inc., a startup company aiming to commercialize membrane technology.

• Time: 11 AM
• Location: 206 Furnas Hall