Physical Sciences Division
Laura finished her master's study at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, under the supervision of Johannes Lercher, Professor for Chemical Technology in Munich and Director of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Institute for Integrated Catalysis. She joined the national laboratory in 2017 to perform work on her doctoral studies under the guidance of Johannes Lercher and with mentoring by Oliver Gutiérrez. Her research focuses on the kinetic and physicochemical characterization of materials for catalytic and electrocatalytic transformation of oxygenated compounds. She is exploring the reaction mechanisms of thermal catalytic and electrocatalytic hydrogenation of different model compounds. In addition, she is investigating the state of the metal on the support and measuring thermodynamic parameters relevant for catalysis.