2025 Annual Meeting
Speakers and Panelists
in alphabetical order
Andre Argenton
Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety, Dow
Andre Argenton is Dow’s chief sustainability officer and vice president of Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S). He is responsible for corporate EH&S governance and sustainability.
Throughout his career, Argenton has worked across the spectrum of chemistries and technologies at Dow, supporting a wide range of industries and covering all facets of innovation from new product development to process research to customer-facing application development. Prior to his current role, he was the vice president of core R&D for the company, where he oversaw a broad portfolio of research programs and world-leading innovation capabilities that enable technology development. Before that, he was the global R&D director of industrial intermediates and infrastructure. His responsibilities included managing the innovation pipeline across multiple chemistry envelopes including polyurethanes and industrial solutions.
Argenton has served on several academic advisory boards. Currently, his external commitments include the University of Michigan Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan Erb Institute, and the NYSE Sustainability Advisory Council.
Argenton earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Sao Paulo.
Shannon Bouton
President and Founding CEO, Delterra
Shannon Bouton is a scientist, environmentalist, and business strategist committed to advancing sustainable development. She serves as president and chief executive officer of Delterra, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to transforming waste management and accelerating the transition to a circular economy. Under her leadership, Delterra has developed initiatives such as Rethinking Recycling, which builds self-sustaining municipal recycling systems, and Plastic IQ, a data-driven platform enabling companies to design effective circular packaging strategies.
Prior to founding Delterra, Bouton led McKinsey.org, where she conceived and launched Rethinking Recycling. She also previously served as chief operating officer of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, advising public- and private-sector leaders on climate strategy, energy efficiency, and sustainable transport.
Trained as a field biologist, she began her career working on community-based conservation in Brazil. Bouton holds a doctorate in natural resources and environment from the University of Michigan.
Sarah Boll
Executive Director, Office of Sustainability, Princeton University
Sarah Boll is Princeton’s executive director of Sustainability, where she oversees Princeton’s progress towards achieving its Sustainability Action Plan, including reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2046.
Boll joined Princeton from Marriott International, where she served as senior director of Energy & Sustainability. In that role, she helped set the company’s science-based emissions reduction targets and developed Marriott’s comprehensive climate action program. Prior to her time at Marriott, she held significant roles in state government and academia, including The University of Utah and NYU. During her time at the State of Utah’s Division of Facilities Construction and Management she led initiatives that resulted in substantial cost savings and efficiency improvements across various state agencies.
Boll’s leadership experience extends to her service as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy, where she served as Liaison Officer for Military Pre-positioning Squadron and Second in Command of the USS FIFE’s Gas Turbine Engineering Plant. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Tulane University and a Master of Science in environmental protection and management from the University of Edinburgh.
Chris Greig
Associate Director for External Partnerships; Theodora D. ’78 and William H. Walton III ’74 Senior Research Scientist at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University
Chris Greig joined Princeton and the Andlinger Center in 2020 after three decades in the private sector as a successful company founder, senior executive, and non-executive director, across four continents. His research is interdisciplinary and deeply collaborative with industry and focuses on overcoming the challenges to scale-up clean energy and fuels production, carbon capture and storage (CCS), industrial decarbonization, along with climate finance, and energy infrastructure delivery innovation. He co-led Princeton’s influential Net-Zero America study and is leading Princeton’s participation in collaborations on similar studies in Asia-Pacific countries. Prior to joining Princeton, Greig was director of the Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation at The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia and the founding director of the UQ Energy Initiative.
Greig’s last industry roles were CEO of ZeroGen, an early pioneer in large-scale CCS development, and deputy chairman of Gladstone Ports Corporation, one of Australia’s leading energy export hubs. He currently serves on the Sustainability External Advisory Council for the Dow Chemical Company. Greig has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.
Adam S. Gross
Senior Decarbonization Specialist, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University
Adam S. Gross recently joined the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University as a Senior Decarbonization Specialist, where he will focus on identifying and accelerating practical, economy-wide net-zero transition pathways.
Prior to his move to Princeton, he spent over twelve years in research and development at ExxonMobil working on the strategy, development, and deployment of advantaged processes and products for energy and petrochemicals industries. A chemical engineer by training, he has experience in a variety of application areas such as refining and chemicals; energy systems; plastics recycling and circularity; carbon materials and graphite; clean hydrogen; energy storage; biofuels; and hydrocarbon behavior and performance. Throughout his career, he has been passionate about how industry can adapt and thrive in the energy transition and circular economy.
Gross received his B.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley, respectively.
Andrew Houck
Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science; Anthony H.P. Lee ’79 P11 P14 Professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton University
Andrew Houck, the dean of Princeton’s school of engineering and applied science, has been on Princeton’s faculty since 2008. His research focuses on the intersection of quantum mechanics and computer science. He has played a leading role in developing one of the most promising approaches to building a quantum computer, a machine capable of solving problems that are impossible on classical devices. He served as the inaugural co-director of the Princeton Quantum Initiative and director of the Co-Design Center for Quantum, which is one of five Department of Energy research centers established in support of the National Quantum Initiative.
Houck is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and is a fellow of the American Physical Society. A 2013 recipient of Princeton’s President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching and the valedictorian of Princeton’s Class of 2000, Houck is also a leader in educational initiatives, spearheading the creation of the University’s first-year engineering curriculum. He earned his Ph.D. in physics at Harvard University.
J.R. Johnson
Vice President of Research and Development, Avnos
J.R. Johnson is vice president of research and development at Avnos, where he leads a team of scientists advancing new materials and processes to reduce the levelized cost of direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide. Avnos is commercializing the world’s most advanced DAC technology – its proprietary Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC™) system – which uniquely inverts the water paradigm by producing water, eliminating heat consumption, and reducing costs compared to conventional DAC approaches.
Before joining Avnos, J.R. Johnson held research and development leadership roles at ExxonMobil and SABIC, driving the development of advanced separation technologies to cut industrial energy use at scale. Earlier in his career, he was part of the research faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and he also served as a scientific and engineering consultant for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia as they designed and constructed their world-class separations research facility. He holds a B.Sc. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech.
Yiguang Ju
Robert Porter Patterson Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University; Co-Founder, Princeton NuEnergy
Yiguang Ju is the Robert Porter Patterson Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the director of the DOE Energy Earthshot Research Center (EERC) for Hydrogen. With over 300 peer-reviewed publications, his research interests include combustion, green fuels, electrified manufacturing, chemical kinetics, plasma chemistry, and non-equilibrium manufacturing of key chemicals and materials.
Ju is a founding fellow and board member of the Combustion Institute, and a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has received numerous awards including the NASA Director’s Certificate of Appreciation award, the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the International Prize from Japanese Combustion Society, the Propellants & Combustion Award from the AIAA, the Alfred C. Egerton Gold Medal from the Combustion Institute, and the 2025 R&D 100 innovation award from R&D World Magazine. He is a co-founder of Princeton NuEnergy and of Princeton startups HiTNano, Polymer-X, and USPlasma.
Ju received his bachelor’s degree in engineering thermophysics from Tsinghua University, and his Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Tohoku University in Japan.
Robert Kumpf
Managing Director, Deloitte
Robert Kumpf is a chemicals and specialty materials executive with over thirty years of experience across multiple geographies and functions, with career themes in innovation processes and leadership, corporate change initiatives, start-up company growth/funding, and open innovation.
Most of Kumpf’s career was spent at Bayer MaterialScience, now Covestro, where he was vice-president of plastics technology, vice-president of future business in the Americas, and chief administrative officer. More recently, Kumpf has been the chief operating officer at Plextronic and the chief technology officer of Elevance Renewable Sciences.
Throughout his career, Kumpf has engaged in the world of public/private/academic partnerships, having served on boards of the Industrial Research Institute, the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, and the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center. He is also a member of the Penn State Department of Materials Science and Engineering External Advisory Board.
At Deloitte, Kumpf works with clients in manufacturing with a focus on heavy industry decarbonization, strategy, innovation, and leading company transformations.
Kumpf received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Penn State and completed the Oxford University Business Economics Program.
Iain McCulloch
Director, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment; Gerhard R. Andlinger ’52 Professor in Energy and the Environment; Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University
Iain McCulloch is the director of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, the Gerhard. R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment, and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Princeton University. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the design and investigation of organic semiconducting materials.
Prior to leading the Andlinger Center, McCulloch held appointments as a professor of chemical science and director of KAUST Solar Center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and a chair in polymer materials in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College. He moved to academia after 18 years managing industrial research groups at Hoechst in the U.S. and Merck in the U.K.
McCulloch is a fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the European Academy of Sciences, and a member of Academia Europaea. He is the recipient of the 2022 Royal Society Armourers and Brasiers Prize, 2020 Blaise Pascal Medal for Materials Science, and the Royal Society of Chemistry 2020 Interdisciplinary Prize. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Strathclyde.
John Pickering
Chief Behavioral Scientist, Evidn
John Pickering is the chief behavioral scientist and co-founder of Evidn, an international applied behavioral science organization. He has expertise in systems-level thinking, behavior change frameworks, psychological theories, and has extensive experience engaging with communities to bring about widespread change for complex, systemic problems. Evidn oversees large-scale programs that seek to understand drivers of behavior and develop strategies for change, particularly in complex environmental and energy domains.
Pickering is a member of the OECD steering committee on agri-environmental behavioral economics, an advisor to state and federal governments in the U.S. and Australia, and actively publishes in leading peer-reviewed journals. He holds fellowship appointments at Princeton University, the University of Michigan, and The University of Queensland. He received both his Ph.D. in clinical psychology and his B.Psy.Sc. in psychology from The University of Queensland.
Z. Jason Ren
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University; Co-Founder, Chief Scientist, and Director, Princeton Critical Minerals (PureLi Inc.)
Z. Jason Ren is a professor in Princeton University’s civil and environmental engineering department and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. His research focuses on water resource recovery, decarbonization, and digitalization. He has authored more than 300 publications, one book, and co-founded two startups with students, including Princeton Critical Minerals (formerly PureLi), which is developing disruptive technologies to secure a sustainable supply of lithium and critical minerals for the clean energy transition.
Ren has received numerous awards including the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Frontier in Research Award, the Water Research Foundation Paul L. Busch Award, and the American Society of Civil Engineers Huber Research Prize. He is an associate editor of the American Chemical Society’s journals Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) and ES&T Letters. Ren received his Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Michele Sarazen
Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University
Michele Sarazen is an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University and associated faculty with Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment and the Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Her research group couples synthetic, kinetic, and theoretical investigations of porous crystalline materials as catalysts and adsorbents for sustainable fuel and chemical production with an emphasis on reaction and deactivation mechanisms.
Sarazen has received accolades including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, American Chemical Society CATL Division Early Career Award in Catalysis, Robert Augustine Award of the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society, and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 35 under 35. Sarazen serves as a D&I task force member for AIChE in Catalysis and Reaction Engineering, director of the Catalysis Society of Metropolitan New York, and associate editor for Applied Catalysis B.
Sarazen earned a B.S. degree in chemical engineering, summa cum laude, from Pennsylvania State University, her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, before postdoctoral work at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Zara Summers
Chief Strategy Officer, LanzaTech
Zara Summers serves as chief strategy officer at LanzaTech, where she leads the company’s efforts to drive commercial growth, secure strategic investments, and unlock new value through business innovation. She spearheads initiatives to align market strategy with evolving global conditions and market demand. Previously, Summers served as LanzaTech’s chief science officer, where she led the company’s Science team across the full R&D pipeline, from initiating new projects with commercial partners and securing government funding, to deploying and supporting LanzaTech’s technology at six commercial plants worldwide.
Before joining LanzaTech, Summers spent a decade at ExxonMobil in scientific and leadership roles focused on advancing biological solutions for the energy transition. Throughout her career, she has been driven by a passion for enhancing economic, environmental, and climate stability through innovation and collaboration.
Summers holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Massachusetts and completed her postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota.
Jennifer Woolfsmith
Vice President, Sustainability, NOVA Chemicals
Jennifer Woolfsmith is the vice president of sustainability for NOVA Chemicals. In her role, Woolfsmith is responsible for leading the ongoing development and execution of NOVA’s environmental strategy and corporate social responsibility reporting. Her function directly supports NOVA’s purpose of reshaping plastics to be our customers’ first and best choice.
Woolfsmith joined NOVA Chemicals in 2001, at the time in the company’s Manchester, UK operations. In her career over the last twenty years, she has held progressive roles within the financial and commercial functions of the organization, across NOVA Chemicals’ European, Canadian and U.S. offices. Most recently, Woolfsmith served as the chief of staff to the CEO where she worked alongside NOVA’s senior leaders and board of directors.
A chartered professional accountant and project management professional, Woolfsmith holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of New Brunswick. A results-driven advocate for change, she also is an executive member and chair of the Finance Committee of the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program.
