AIChE May 2025 Webinar: Guiding the Transition to a Net-Zero Emissions Chemicals and Materials Industry: Role of Data Science and AI

Presentation Abstract 

Today, net-zero emissions targets have been set by more than 9000 companies, 1000 cities, 1000 educational institutions, and 600 financial institutions. This presents a unique opportunity for companies and countries that meet this target in a sustainable manner that is profitable and competitive, while addressing environmental and societal challenges. However, meeting such targets requires models that capture the direct and indirect or life cycle impact of current and emerging technologies, methods for guiding technology development and adaptive roadmaps to guide the transition, while understanding trade-offs, and user-friendly software tools. This talk will describe a framework for guiding this transition and the essential role of data science and artificial intelligence. Our framework relies on a large-scale model of the chemicals and materials industry including current and future technologies, evaluation of scenarios based on future trends, and roadmaps that account for long-term changes in technology availability and climate change. We rely on large language models to build circular reaction networks with current and emerging technologies, and advanced optimization methods to understand trade-offs between objectives such as cost, carbon footprint, and circularity. Applications include the global chemicals industry and plastic packaging.

Speaker Bio

Bhavik Bakshi holds the Wrigley Professorship at Arizona State University with appointments in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, School of Sustainability and School of Complex Adaptive Systems. He is also an emeritus professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. His research is developing systematic methods to ensure that engineering enables an effective transformation toward sustainability. This is resulting in novel solutions that respect nature’s limits, are socially just, and contribute to economic prosperity. He has received recognitions from the Computing, Environmental, and Sustainability divisions of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). His Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree is from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, MS in Chemical Engineering Practice and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a minor in Technology and Environmental Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.