Events Calendar

MFD Distinguished Lecture Series: Leslie Abdul-Aziz

Speaker: Dr. Leslie Abdul-Aziz, USC WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Talk Title: How to Make Carbon Capture Smarter: A Deep Dive Into Materials Chemistry for Integrated Carbon Capture and Utilization

Series: Mork Family Department Distinguished Lecture Series

Abstract: The conventional carbon capture and utilization (CCU) process involves separating CO2 from waste streams,transporting it through a pipeline, and then converting it into fuels and chemical commodities. On the other hand,Integrated Carbon Capture and Utilization (ICCU) or thermocatalytic reactive capture offers a more efficient approachwith lower energy requirements. This method directly transforms captured CO2 into methanol, synthesis gas, andcarbon monoxide.
At the heart of an ICCU scheme are dual-functional materials comprised of a catalyst affixed to a solid sorbent,enabling the selective capture and conversion of CO2 within the same reactor. This seminar will delve into efforts toenhance these materials, beginning with the example of Zr-modified Ni/CaO DFMs, which exhibit improved CO2 capture and conversion capabilities. Additionally, there will be a discussion on multifunctional materials such as self-regenerative Ni-doped CaTiO3/CaO nanocomposites, explored for CO2 capture and subsequent dry reforming of methane (ICCDRM). These materials have demonstrated stable CO2 capture capacity and syngas productivity overmultiple cycles, with reduced coke deposition due to small exsolved Ni nanoparticles and their strong interaction withthe host material.

Biography: Dr. Kandis Leslie Gilliard-AbdulAziz is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She joined theUSC faculty in January 2024. Before joining the Viterbi School of Engineering, Dr. Gilliard-AbdulAziz was anAssistant Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside, where shedirected the Sustainable Lab at the University of California, Riverside, between 2018 – 2023. She earned her Ph.D. inChemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017 and was a Provost postdoctoral fellow at theUniversity of Pennsylvania from 2017-2018. She worked previously as a Forensic scientist for the Philadelphia policedepartment and as a Refinery chemist at Sunoco Chemicals in Philadelphia. She currently directs the Sustainable Lab,which primarily focuses on developing novel materials for sustainable catalytic processes for low-carbon chemicalproduction. Her primary research focus is novel materials development for CO2 sequestration and utilization using aninterdisciplinary toolset from bioengineering, chemistry, material science, chemical, and environmental engineering. Dr.Gilliard-AbdulAziz is the recipient of several awards and recognitions, including the Material Science of ExtremeEnvironments Young Investigator Award (2022), the National Science Foundation Career Award (2022), the Departmentof Energy Early Career Award (2023), and the Sloan Research Fellowship (2024).

Host: Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

More Information: 9_3 Leslie Abdul- Aziz Abstract.pdf

Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 352

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: William Wences