The Goldfarb Lab is on the hunt for fugitive carbon. We transform organic wastes – from dining hall food scraps to agricultural residues – into biofuels and sustainable carbon materials for water treatment, electrochemical processes and energy storage. Designing thermochemical unit operations for such waste-to-energy conversions is a key part of our research. Yet such conversion processes leave trails of carbon behind in dilute process water streams and low-value solids. To make the integrated biorefinery economically viable, we are developing low-energy separation techniques to capture this carbon and using synthetic biology to upcycle molecules to high value products. Our group is a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary team with graduate students from Chemical Engineering, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Systems Engineering and even Archaeology! Dr. Jillian Goldfarb brings her expertise in biofuels analysis and in situ catalysis to develop new insights into the organic residue analysis of ancient pottery.
If you’re looking for Research Opportunities, please note:
Prospective PhD, M.S. and M.Eng. Students should apply through the Cornell Graduate School for Fall admission (we do not offer spring admission). Students may apply through several programs (Chemical, Systems, Biological & Environmental Engineering and Archaeology).
Cornell Undergraduate Researchers should contact Prof. Goldfarb via email. Unfortunately we are not able to offer internships/experiences for non-Cornell undergraduates.
We (unfortunately) are not able to offer High School Student research opportunities. Please note that your emails are unlikely to receive a response!