Dr. Tsilomelekis received his Diploma in Chemical Engineering (2006), Masters specialized in Energy and Environment (2011) and PhD in Chemical Engineering (2011) from the University of Patras, Greece. His doctoral research focused on unravelling the molecular structure and reactivity of supported transitional metal oxide catalysts by coupling Operando Raman/FTIR spectroscopies with isotopic exchange experiments. In 2012, he joined the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of Delaware as a postdoctoral researcher in the Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation (CCEI) under the direction of Prof. Dionisios G. Vlachos where he focused on addressing the critical topic of solvent selection in biomass processing. In 2015, he joined the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Tsilomelekis’ research focuses on the rational implementation of spectroscopic methods under realistic reaction conditions (Operando spectroscopy) toward understanding complex catalytic reactions in the broad field of the conversion of renewable and alternative energy sources. His interdisciplinary research approach is centered around the fields of energy, catalysis, reaction engineering, molecular spectroscopy and material science towards the development of novel structure-reactivity relationships. He has published more than 30 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is the recipient of the NSF/CAREER award as well as the Doctoral New Investigator award from the ACS/Petroleum Research Fund.