Chemical Engineer Receives National Science Foundation Award

The National Science Foundation awarded nearly $540,000 to Maria Carreon, associate professor at the University of Arkansas, to support her research on sustainable conversion of carbon emissions.

By Chemical Processing staff

Sept. 13, 2023

Maria Carreon, associate professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation. Carreon's research is in the non-thermal plasma processing field.

The Career award supports "early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education," according to the NSF. Recipients of the award are seen by the NSF as "dedicated to stimulating the discovery process in which the excitement of research is enhanced by inspired teaching, enthusiastic learning and disseminating new knowledge." Carreon's award totals nearly $540,000 over five years and is supported by the NSF's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems.

The award will directly support Carreon's research on ways to reform carbon dioxide into more useful compounds using plasma processing. Non-thermal plasma processing is viewed as a more sustainable approach to converting greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, into oxygenated chemical fuels and feedstocks.