Marion H Emmert

Biography

Education: Diploma (Masters) Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg, Germany Dr. rer. nat. (PhD) Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster, Germany When I graduated high school, I had no idea that I would be a chemist. After my decision to not become a piano player, I planned on graduating with a degree in biotechnology. But soon, I realized that I was fascinated by the combination of thinking and experimenting that is a chemist's daily task. My group explores challenges in the area of organometallic catalysis and recycling with the goal to make chemical processes more efficient. Considering shrinking supplies of raw materials for producing fuels, materials, and medicines, I am convinced that catalysis is one of the major technologies of the future; catalysis can help us to use sparse resources more efficiently, and will contribute to finding a substitute for petroleum as basic resource for "every-day" chemicals like detergents, plastics, and fuels. Recovering precious materials from end-of-life products or production wastes is an equally crucial area of research for the future sustainability of our society. In our recent work, we have mainly focused on recovery rare earths, which are found in HD drives, motors of electric and hybrid vehicles, and in waste products (red mud) from aluminum production. My research group consists of undergraduate, graduate students, and postdocs and is located in WPI's Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center. Students who are excited about hands-on laboratory work and consider a career in research are strongly encouraged to join our group as early in their WPI career as possible to gain the maximum benefits of working in a research lab!

Research Interest

Solar Fuels and Biomass Activation; Non-Directed C-H Functionalization; Waste-Free Chemical Processes; Rare Earth Recovery and Recycling