MIT Chemical Engineering Graduate | Sustainability & Environment

Clean energy, sustainability, and data-driven problem solving.

I am a recent MIT Chemical Engineering graduate with a concentration in sustainability and environment, focused on clean technology and data-driven problem solving. Through research and internships, I have worked across direct air capture, lithium recovery, hydrogen production, industrial energy efficiency, and sustainability consulting.

Lucy Kanias

About

I am open to full-time opportunities on the East or West Coast across energy, sustainability, modelling, data analytics, consulting, strategy, and R&D. I am especially interested in roles that allow me to apply technical analysis to practical climate, energy, and technology challenges while continuing to broaden my experience across analytical, technical, and client-facing work.

Experience

Center for International Studies Fellowship

Cambridge, MA | Sep 2025 – Dec 2025

Sustainability and Innovation Ecosystems Consultant

  • Developed sustainability indicators to measure the success of innovation initiatives within the REAP programme.

Ucaneo

Berlin, Germany | Jun 2025 – Sep 2025

Engineering Intern

  • Conducted solvent screening for a direct air capture process, improving CO₂ absorption rate by 10%.
  • Evaluated scalable solvent candidates for compatibility with absorption and regeneration pathways.

Humboldt University Graeber Lab for Energy Research

Berlin, Germany | May 2024 – Aug 2024

Researcher

  • Synthesised hydrogel formulations for water harvesting, improving swelling ratios by 100%.
  • Generated experimental findings incorporated into a PhD proposal on hydrogel-based water harvesting.

MIT Rohsenow Kendall Heat Transfer Lab

Cambridge, MA | Jan 2023 – Aug 2024

Researcher

  • Conducted lithium extraction experiments from salt-lake brines using nanofiltration and electrodialysis.
  • Achieved 99.5% Mg rejection and high-purity Li recovery through membrane-based separation experiments.
  • Published as 3rd author in Advanced Functional Materials and presented at the Materials Research Society Conference in Boston.
View Publication

Projects & Skills

Techno-Economic Analysis for Green Hydrogen Production

Python, techno-economic analysis, systems modelling

Carbon Sequestration in the Charles River

MATLAB, Excel, environmental data analysis

Cloud-Albedo Feedback and Surface Temperature Dynamics

Python, climlab, climate modelling

Feasibility of EV Adoption in the EU

Fixed-effects regression, data aggregation, policy analysis

View Report

Redox Flow Battery Malfunction Analysis

Electrochemical analysis, transport modelling, system diagnostics

View Report

Preliminary Design of PET Recycling Process

Aspen Plus, P&IDs, techno-economic analysis

View Report

Weather-Driven Variability in Particulate Matter

Environmental monitoring, data smoothing, trend analysis

View Report

Leadership

Alpha Chi Omega

President | Jan 2025 – Jan 2026

  • Managed a 15-member executive board for a 120-member chapter, improving chapter retention by 15%.
  • Introduced Walk a Mile in Her Shoes as a new chapter philanthropy event, overseeing 300 attendees.

Equal Education

Instructor | Feb 2023 – Present

  • Mentor and teach 100+ students applying to competitive UK/US universities.

Contact

Open to full-time opportunities in energy, sustainability, modelling, data analytics, consulting, strategy, and R&D.

lucyk@mit.edu · linkedin.com/in/lucykanias