Presenting our newest PhD graduate: Dr. Makenna Pennel

The Cargnello group is beyond thrilled and proud to present our newest PhD graduate: Dr. Makenna Pennel!

Makenna, a Stanford Chemistry PhD graduate, worked on plastics upcycling and recycling, an emerging yet (extremely) challenging research field. In her dissertation, she developed well-defined colloidal catalysts to probe fundamental plastics degradation processes while discovering new processes to improve plastics degradation performance. Her works have been at the forefront of her research field, evident from her most recent position as co-chair of the inaugural Plastics Recycling and Upcycling Gordon Research Seminar. A quality that uniquely sets Makenna apart is her eye for the broader context –  her experience in climate tech venture capital has beneficially shaped her research towards broad-based deployment.

We are excited for Makenna’s PhD works to be published very soon and celebrate her achievements as our latest PhD graduate!