Engineering Case Studies That Address Climate Change

To tackle climate change, we need big solutions, and we need big solutions fast. Oftentimes, these solutions will come in surprising packages. One of my favorite examples is our work in contrails – you know contrails, those little fluffy white clouds behind planes? Surprisingly, according to the IPCC, they make up roughly 35% of aviation’s global warming impact. The great news is that contrails are relatively easy to avoid because they only form in cold and humid regions of the sky – so pilots can adjust their altitude to avoid them, just like they do for turbulence. Since Google announced our work with American Airlines and Breakthrough Energy, where we used AI to help American Airlines pilots reduce contrails by over half, it’s been amazing to see how the sustainability conversation in the aviation industry has shifted, thanks in large part to the dedication of Jill Blickstein, Dinesh Sanekommu, and Marc Shapiro. Contrail avoidance is now recognized in the aviation industry as another (much nearer term!) solution alongside needed innovations in electric planes, hydrogen planes, and biofuels. Our team recently released a paper with more details on our work with American Airlines. Here are key takeaways: 𝟭. 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (seen in satellite imagery!): Flights that adjusted their routes based on our AI-based contrail predictions showed a 54% reduction in contrail kilometers, when compared in satellite imagery with control flights that didn't have access to AI predictions. 𝟮. 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: Pilots made relatively small adjustments to their ascent or descent profiles to avoid contrail-forming regions, demonstrating a practical approach that integrates into existing flight operations. One of my favorite memories is that after flying American's first flight to avoid contrails, Captain John P. Dudley remarked that it was easy to avoid them, our predictions looked right based on all the contrails he saw in the sky, and best of all - he even came up with a new approach to contrail avoidance that we informally named after him  😊 𝟯. 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗳𝗳: The study found a slight increase in fuel consumption per adjusted flight (around 2%). The great news is that only a small fraction of flights create contrails, so this likely scales to 0.3% additional fuel when scaled across an airline's fleet. 𝟰. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀: The approach we used to predict contrail formation utilized both AI from Google and physics-based simulation (thank you Breakthrough Energy!). Link to paper: https://lnkd.in/gxKHXCps What excites me most about this research is its ability to scale near-term. We still have important research to do, and we’ll share more about that in coming months - but compared to other climate solutions, contrail avoidance has the ability to scale in a matter of years, not decades. We need more solutions like this to meet the climate challenge.

As a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shreya Dave was fascinated with desalination technology and helping more people have access to clean water. She designed an efficient water filter alongside her classmate Brent Keller but unfortunately, it was too expensive for popular use. After realizing how much energy goes into separating chemicals in manufacturing, they began to see if their technology could be applicable elsewhere. Enter Via Separations, founded by Shreya, Brent, and their MIT professor Jeffrey Grossman, which is decarbonizing the manufacturing sector. Most manufacturing companies rely on a process that can be compared to getting pasta from a pot of boiling water to separate chemicals. They use evaporation, which is like boiling off an entire pot of water to get to the pasta. This process requires heat that often comes from fossil fuels. Massachusetts-based Via developed the equivalent of a pasta strainer for chemical separations, a process that achieves what evaporation does while using 90% less energy. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that switching to filtration-based chemical separations like Via’s can save roughly 3 billion tons of carbon per year. That is the equivalent of taking every single one of the world’s passenger cars off the road. After a few successful pilot demonstrations, Via is now beginning to install its solutions on a larger scale. Shreya and her colleagues are another example of people who took their passions and interests and existing work and found a way to use it to help the climate, serving as an inspiration to us all. https://lnkd.in/e2XESThf

Excited to share two of our recent publications on concrete materials, completed in collaboration with Lisa Colosi Peterson, PhD, environmental engineering professor in the UVA Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Gabriel Arce, research scientist at the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC). Our first study, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, investigates how life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic assessment (TEA) can quantify reductions in global warming potential (GWP) achieved through innovative concrete mixtures or production techniques. Using a case study focused on graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) as functional fillers, we explored three LCA framings—each employing different functional units and system boundaries—and examined how these choices impact the sustainability assessment of new concrete technologies. 50-days free access: https://lnkd.in/eddJ9Dev Permanent link: https://lnkd.in/eTGaqVPX Our second study, published in Journal of Building Engineering, explores the potential to reduce the environmental footprint of 3D-printed concrete by replacing cement with calcined clay. We analyzed the effects of calcined clay on the rheological and mechanical properties of 3D-printable mixtures and conducted a comparative environmental impact assessment of these mixes. Permanent link: https://lnkd.in/ednRzw_E

🚧 Can "Smart Nanotech Concrete" Tackle Both Frost Damage and Climate Change? ❄️🌍 Two recent studies from the University of Miami and Washington State University showcase a significant advance toward low-carbon, high-durability infrastructure, thanks to a patented clinker-free geopolymer concrete. 🧪 What’s New? Graphene Oxide + Geopolymer Paste ➤ Adding just 0.02% graphene oxide (GO by mass of ash) to fly ash-based geopolymer paste makes a notable difference. No cement is needed for this type of concrete! ➤ The result? Much better strength retention after 84 rapid freeze-thaw cycles and stronger resistance to post-damage carbonation. ➤ GO improves hydration chemistry and reduces moisture uptake—key for durability in cold, wet regions. CFRP-Confined Geopolymer Columns ➤ Researchers encased GO-modified geopolymer concrete in carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) tubes, creating high-strength, ductile structural members. ➤ Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) over a 100-year lifespan shows: ✅ Up to 34% lower CO₂ emissions than traditional cement concrete columns ✅ Excellent resilience, even under extreme loading and environmental conditions 💡 Why It Matters These innovations pave the way for next-generation infrastructure—stronger, greener, and more resilient. 👷♀️ Civil engineers: Ready to rethink your materials? 🎓 This is where chemistry, mechanics, and sustainability converge. 📚 Learn more: • Li & Shi, Cement and Concrete Composites, 2025 – https://lnkd.in/g-5hRfHi • Li et al., Transportation Research Record, 2025 – https://lnkd.in/gpbWKkS3 #CivilEngineering #FlyAsh #Geopolymer #GrapheneOxide #FrostResistance #CFRP #SustainableConstruction #ConcreteInnovation #LifeCycleAssessment #InfrastructureResilience #STEM #FutureEngineers