Juan D. Jimenez
2024 Regional Award Finalist — Post-Doc
Current Position:
Goldhaber Distinguished Fellow
Institution:
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Discipline:
Chemical Engineering
Recognized for:
Advancing sustainable industrial practices by developing novel catalytic materials that transform greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane into valuable chemical products.
Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Heterogeneous Catalysis, Carbon Conversion, Reaction Engineering, in situ Spectroscopy
Previous Positions:
Adjunct Professor, CUNY City College of New York, Department of Chemical Engineering
PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina (Jochen Lauterbach)
BE Chemical Engineering, CUNY City College of New York
Research Summary:
Juan D. Jimenez, PhD, is making significant strides towards a sustainable future by developing catalysts that convert greenhouse gases, i.e. CO2 and methane, into useful chemicals. The development of novel catalytic materials is critical to reaching sustainability targets. Jimenez’s innovative work on methane reforming represents a holistic way of manufacturing chemicals from waste carbon, enabling carbon circularity. Jimenez has also developed a technique to convert methane from rural natural gas wells into liquid fuels without major processing units, reducing costs and emissions. Jimenez’s contributions provide targeted, sustainable solutions to real-world challenges, supporting the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
“The grand challenge of our generation—climate change—requires innovative and diverse solutions. Being recognized as a Blavatnik Awards Honoree inspires me to elevate my field of clean energy, making a brighter future for the next generation.”
Key Publications:
- JD Jimenez, et al. From Methane to Methanol: Pd-iC-CeO2 Catalysts Engineered for High Selectivity via Mechano-Chemical Synthesis. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2024 (in press).
- Z Li, P Wang, X Lyu, VR Kondapalli, S Xiang, JD Jimenez, L Ma, T Ito, T Zhang, J Raj, et al. Directing CO2 electroreduction pathways for selective C2 product formation using single-site doped copper catalysts. Nature Chemical Engineering, 2024.
- JD Jimenez, et al. Direct Synthesis of Liquid Fuels from Natural Gas using Milled Catalysts. USA. Patent Pending, 2023.
- JD Jimenez, LE Betancourt, M Danielis, H Zhang, F Zhang, I Orozco, W Xu, J Llorca, P Liu, A Trovarelli, JA Rodríguez, S Colussi, SD Senanayake. Identification of Highly Selective Surface Pathways for Methane Dry Reforming Using Mechanochemical Synthesis of Pd–CeO2. ACS Catalysis, 2022.
Other Honors:
2024 Brookhaven National Laboratory Entrepreneur Team Lead: Funded Finalist
2023 NAM28 Integrated Syngas Chemistry Session Chair
2021 Goldhaber Distinguished Fellowship
2021 ACS Young Chemist Leadership Development Award
2020 University of South Carolina Breakthrough Graduate Scholar Award
2020 University of South Carolina Outstanding Student Award, Chemical Engineering Graduate
2019 AIChE 50th Anniversary of ExxonMobil Corporate Strategic Research Graduate Presenter
2019 North American Catalysis Society Meeting Richard J Kokes Award
2019 University of South Carolina Service Award, Chemical Engineering Graduate
2018 Dow Chemical Company Building Engineering and Science Talent (BEST) Recipient
In the Media:
Brookhaven National Laboratory Newsroom – Catalyst for ‘One-pot’ Conversion of Methane to Methanol
Brookhaven National Laboratory Newsroom – Novel Chemical Reaction Supports Carbon-Neutral Industrial Processes
TBR Newsmedia – BNL’s Juan Jimenez helps team convert carbon dioxide to an ingredient in plastic
AIChE Chemical Engineering Press Magazine – Transforming a Carbon-Based Economy