The latest climate change projections indicate that we will need to capture billions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year soon to prevent catastrophic climate change. This presentation will break down what carbon capture is, how it can be performed, and where it should be placed. Dr. Hornbostel will also share a few of her latest research projects in this area- ranging from net-zero fossil power plant models to capturing CO2 from the oceans while making fresh drinking water.

About Katherine Hornbostel

Dr. Katherine Hornbostel is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Her current research areas include membrane modeling for carbon capture, sorbent modeling for direct air capture, and developing novel membranes for direct ocean capture. Dr. Hornbostel received her BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech in 2010 and 2012, respectively. She then received her PhD in mechanical engineering from MIT in 2016 and was a postdoc research fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Lab until 2017. Dr. Hornbostel spoke about her postdoc work on Freakonomics Radio Live and also received press for her breast pump invention that she created after having twins in grad school. Dr. Hornbostel was also recently named a Scialog: Negative Emissions Science Fellow, and recently received the Carbon Capture Future Star Award from the CCS&T Elsevier journal.