This materials science and engineering major isn鈥檛 just studying sustainable methods of retrieving rare earth metals 鈥� she鈥檚 developing new ways to do it.
Now, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has taken notice.
Dene茅 Lichtenberg was awarded the DOE鈥檚 Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship, giving her the opportunity to further her research at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. This premier multidisciplinary research institution is advancing breakthroughs in science and technology to address national security challenges.
The opportunity brings her closer to achieving one of her biggest goals: working at a national laboratory, where she鈥檒l collaborate with experienced researchers and learn how large-scale scientific projects are conducted.
Raised in Titusville, less than an hour away from 麻豆原创鈥檚 main campus, Lichtenberg says she always knew she鈥檇 attend 麻豆原创, especially given the strength of its engineering programs. What she didn鈥檛 yet know was how far that decision would take her.
“The ability to design and improve materials that impact a variety of fields really motivated me to pursue this discipline.”
She found her path in materials science 鈥� a field where physics, chemistry and engineering intersect 鈥� which would allow her to study materials from the atomic level to real-world applications.
鈥淯ltimately, everything is made up of materials,鈥� she says. 鈥淏y changing a material鈥檚 structure or composition, you can drastically alter its performance. The ability to design and improve materials that impact a variety of fields really motivated me to pursue this discipline.鈥�
That curiosity has evolved into something bigger: tackling the challenge of sustainably recovering rare earth metals that are vital to the future of energy and technology.
Advancing Sustainable Extraction
Over the past year in the , led by Assistant Professor of Engineering Kausik Mukhopadhyay, Lichtenberg has focused on a breakthrough approach that uses a naturally occurring protein, lanmoudulin.
鈥淭he protein can capture rare earth elements from dilute waste streams, and then a small temperature change can trigger the protein to release them so they can be collected,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his could create a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way to recover valuable materials.鈥�
Those materials are critical to everything from renewable energy systems to manufacturing; however, traditional extraction methods rely heavily on large amounts of energy and chemicals sourced from acid mine drainage, coal byproducts and electronic waste.
Lichtenberg鈥檚 work points to a sustainable future.
鈥淏y developing protein-based systems that selectively capture and release these elements, we could potentially reduce the reliance on traditional extraction,鈥� she says.
At Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lichtenberg will take that work further, designing modified proteins, producing them in the lab and testing how effectively they bind and release rare earth elements.
鈥淚t is a very exciting interdisciplinary project that combines protein engineering, materials science and sustainability,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 hope to continue this research after the internship ends.鈥�
It Takes a Lab 鈥� and a Team
But just as impactful as the research has been, the environment that鈥檚 shaped it has been.
鈥淒r. Mukhopadhyay is a fantastic mentor who creates a very supportive and positive environment that encourages learning [both] in and out of the lab,鈥� Lichtenberg says. 鈥淭he graduate students in the lab have [also] played a huge role in 鈥� helping me learn new techniques and [understand] the experiments and science itself.鈥�
Next, she plans to continue her journey as a Knight by pursuing a doctoral degree at 麻豆原创, advancing her research as a graduate member of the KM Lab.
For Lichtenberg, this internship isn鈥檛 the finish line 鈥� it鈥檚 just the beginning of reimagining how the world sources its most essential materials.
