Abstract: The Chemicals and Materials Industry (CMI) is a major producer of “wastes”, which are stressing the earth’s capacity in many dimensions, effecting climate change, degradation of the biosphere, human and animal migration, quality of life, health and security. The decarbonization of energy supplies, and its impact on climate change if we proceed with business as usual, is a recurring subject of daily news and scientific literature. But, the de-fossilization of the chemicals and materials industry is less prominent in the social awareness and public policy. In this presentation I will argue that the current structure of the CMI is unsustainable and needs to be put on a path towards its eventual de-fossilization. Specifically, I will show that the materials production-handling and use is a main driver in GHG emissions, and that by focusing only on the decarbonization of the energy sector we will never achieve the desired GHG emissions goals. Furthermore, given the anticipated population and GDP growths, we will not be able to decouple them from the GHG emissions until passed the end of this century. Circularization of the CMI is an essential requirement to achieve these goals, but it requires an extensive restructuring of the present manufacturing sector, both in terms of new technologies as well as in terms of business models and positioning in the broader economy. Such a revamp of CMI will bring a revolution in product design, production methods, finance and social organization.

Bio: 

George Stephanopoulos is the Post-Tenure A.D. Little Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and holds a joint Professorship in the School for the Engineering of Mater, Energy, and Transport, and the School of Molecular Sciences at the Arizona State University (ASU). He is also the Founding Director of the Global KAITEKI Center at ASU.

He received a Diploma of Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece, a M.Eng. degree from McMaster University, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Florida. He taught at the University of Minnesota, NTUA, MIT, and ASU. He also served as the Chief Technology Officer and member of the Board of the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering; fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he received an Honorary Doctor of Science from McMaster University. From the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), he received the following honors: Colburn, Walker and Founders Awards; Institute Lecture; the Computing in Chemical Engineering Award, and was named as one of the 100 Chemical Engineers of Modern Era. He has also received the 2025 Nordic Process Control Award; the Ragazzini Award of the American Automatic Control Council; the Curtis McGraw Award of the American Society of Engineering Education; and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher and Scholar Award.

He has presented over 50 honorary lectures at various universities, research institutes, and industrial corporations, and more than 250 invited and plenary lectures at international conferences.

He is the author of the “Chemical and Biological Process Dynamics and Control (2025), and the “Chemical Process Control: An Introduction to Theory and Practice” (1984), and co-author of two volumes on “Intelligent Systems in Process Engineering” (1995).

He has published over 250 papers in process systems engineering, including: process control; control of nanoscale processes; process design and optimization; synthesis of molecular systems; product design; process monitoring and diagnosis; and process operations planning.

In 2024, AIChE and EFCE (European Federation of Chemical Engineering) established in his honor the “George Stephanopoulos Award in Process Engineering”.