An innovative summer at NETL

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Carnegie Mellon University have a decades-long history of research partnerships and a well-established pipeline between the two institutions. It’s no surprise that over the summer, several CMU students and postdocs once again honed their skills at the national lab whose mission is to drive innovation and deliver solutions for a secure energy future.

Nicole Elias

Nicole Elias is pursuing a BS in chemical engineering at CMU and learned about opportunities such as the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship (MLEF) Program during a class tour of NETL’s Pittsburgh laboratory. From May to August 2025, Elias expanded her network and built upon her research and problem-solving skills as she focused on selective critical mineral recovery from coal ash leachates using ion exchange and nanofiltration methods. This hands-on experience, Elias notes, directly called on the skills she’d learned in the classroom. 

“The most valuable part of my experience is the connections I made both with my mentors and peers,” said Elias, speaking to the strong CMU ties to the lab.

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Jana Reiser

Jana Reiser, an undergraduate civil and environmental engineering student, also joined NETL for the summer through the MLEF Program after hearing about it from a PhD alumna who works at the national lab. Reiser was mentored by Yousef Picard on characterizing nickel migration in the fuel electrode of reversible solid oxide cells (rSOCs), which can be used to turn electricity into hydrogen gas and vice versa, making them a backup renewable energy source.

Reiser drew parallels between research she’d done with confocal microscopy in Greg Lowry’s lab at CMU and her time at NETL, where she learned how to use a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy to create an image of the fuel electrode component of the rSOC.

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Preom Sarkar

After earning an MS in civil and environmental engineering at CMU, Preom Sarkar spent two years in NETL’s Post-Graduate Research Program (PGRP) mentored by Djuna Gulliver (Geomicrobiology and Geochemistry Team). Sarkar returned to CMU to pursue her PhD in civil and environmental engineering in 2021 and has continued to participate in the program with NETL. 

Sarkar, who defended her PhD thesis in August 2025, describes her time at NETL as helpful in enhancing her laboratory skills. 

“I became adept at many microbiological techniques such as handling low biomass samples, field sampling, DNA extraction, development of laboratory protocols, and experimental design,” said Sarkar. 

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Jiaan Wang

Jiaan Wang is a twice-over CEE alumna, having earned her MS in 2017 and her PhD in 2023. Wang complemented her education with multiple NETL collaborations beginning while she was a doctoral student, focusing on geologic carbon storage (GCS) and environmental monitoring. 

As a postdoctoral researcher, Wang continued to learn and conduct research on GCS risk assessment, including simulating potential leakage through wellbores at GCS projects, evaluating basin-scale GCS risks, and collaborating on the development of decision-support tools for adaptive monitoring.

“This practical exposure complemented my formal academic training by applying theoretical knowledge from my civil and environmental engineering coursework to real-world energy and environmental challenges, strengthening both my technical expertise and my ability to communicate complex results to diverse audiences,” said Wang.