Ryan Lively

2025 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Ryan Lively

Current Position:
Thomas C. DeLoach Jr. Endowed Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Institution:
Georgia Institute of Technology

Discipline:
Chemical Engineering

Recognized for: Pioneering scalable membrane and separation technologies that will reduce industrial carbon emissions and energy use, transforming carbon capture and chemical purification worldwide.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Separations Science, Materials Science, Membrane Materials, Adsorption and Absorption Materials, Chemical Engineering

Previous Positions:

B.Sc., Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, USA (Advisor: William J. Koros)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Algenol Biofuels (Advisor: Ronald R. Chance)
Assistant Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology

Research Summary:

Ryan Lively, PhD develops next generation separation technologies to reduce the massive energy footprint of industrial purification processes. Lively created new materials and devices such as fiber sorbents that capture carbon dioxide directly from air and high-performance membranes that refine chemical mixtures without heat. These scalable systems consume far less energy than conventional methods like distillation and are already being tested in commercial pilot plants. By combining advanced materials with practical engineering, Lively introduces cleaner, more efficient approaches to carbon capture and chemical manufacturing with broad potential to cut emissions and transform industrial systems.

“Separations are an intrinsic aspect of human life, yet they remain an evergreen challenge. We aim to make separation processes more sustainable by developing materials that reduce energy use, carbon emissions, water consumption, and waste generation.”

Key Publications:

  1. R.P. Lively, D.Y. Koh, B.A. McCool, H.W. Deckman. Reverse osmosis molecular differentiation of organic liquids using carbon molecular sieve membranes. Science, 2016.
  2. R.P. Lively, W.H. Lee, X. Zhang, S. Banerjee, C.W. Jones, M.J. Realff. Sorbent-Coated Carbon Fibers for Direct Air Capture Using Electrically Driven Temperature Swing Adsorption. Joule, 2023.
  3. R.P. Lively*, K.A. Thompson†, R. Mathias†, D. Kim, N. Rangnekar, J.R. Johnson, S.J. Hoy, I. Bechis, A. Tarzia, K.E. Jelfs, B.A. McCool, A.G. Livingston, M.G. Finn*. N-Aryl–linked spirocyclic polymers for membrane separations of complex hydrocarbon mixtures. Science, 2020.
  4. R.P. Lively*, H.E. Holmes, M.J. Realff*. Water Management and Heat Integration in Direct Air Capture Systems. Nature Chemical Engineering, 2024.
  5. R.P. Lively*, Y. Ren†, H.A. Ma†, J. Kim, M.A. Otmi, C. Dai, Y.J. Lee, Z. Zhai, W.J. Jang, S. Yang, A. Sarswat, Y. Feliachi, J. Sampath, M.J. Realff, S. Guo*. Fluorine-rich poly(arylene amine) membranes for the separation of liquid aliphatic compounds. Science, 2025

Other Honors:

2025 International Association for Carbon Capture, Distinguished Fellow

2024 Stratis V. Sotirchos Lectureship Award, Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences
2022 Inaugural Distinguished Young Membrane Scientist Award, International Congress on Separation and Purification Technology
2022 American Chemical Society Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division, Fellow
2022 American Society for Engineering Education Curtis W. McGraw Award
2020 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Allan P. Colburn Award
2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers FRI/John G. Kunesh Award
2018 Department of Energy Early Career Award
2017 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award
2017 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
2013 National Science Foundation BRIGE Award

In the Media:

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