The Gilbertson group strives to holistically develop new materials and technologies that advance capabilities, particularly in tackling global environmental challenges. Materials and technologies do not exist in isolation. They require resources in their production and have a commercial “afterlife”. These up- and downstream phases of their life cycle can be associated with adverse impacts that can negate any benefit realized through use. Further, there are decisions in these life cycle stages that substantially impact their environmental footprint. We use life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify environmental impacts from raw material acquisition through end of life, identifying opportunities to replace (or eliminate) high impact aspects to minimize the resource and emission footprint. Further, we develop metrics and approaches to consider the impact-benefit tradeoffs, identifying the boundary conditions to achieve a net benefit in the design, development, and use of a material.
Representative Publications
Gilbertson, L. M., Zimmerman, J. B., Plata, D. L., Hutchison, J. E., & Anastas, P. T. (2015). Designing nanomaterials to maximize performance and minimize undesirable implications guided by the Principles of Green Chemistry. Chemical Society Reviews, 44(16), 5758-5777. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4CS00445K
Gilbertson, L. M., Pourzahedi, L., Laughton, S., Gao, X., Zimmerman, J. B., Theis, T. L., ... & Lowry, G. V. (2020). Guiding the design space for nanotechnology to advance sustainable crop production. Nature nanotechnology, 15(9), 801-810. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-0706-5
Gilbertson, L. M., & Vikesland, P. J. (2022). Inspiring a nanocircular economy. Environmental Science: Nano, 9(3), 839-840. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2EN90005J
Gilbertson, L. M., Busnaina, A. A., Isaacs, J. A., Zimmerman, J. B., & Eckelman, M. J. (2014). Life cycle impacts and benefits of a carbon nanotube-enabled chemical gas sensor. Environmental science & technology, 48(19), 11360-11368. https://doi.org/10.1021/es5006576
Falinski, M. M., Plata, D. L., Chopra, S. S., Theis, T. L., Gilbertson, L. M., & Zimmerman, J. B. (2018). A framework for sustainable nanomaterial selection and design based on performance, hazard, and economic considerations. Nature nanotechnology, 13(8), 708-714. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0120-4
Funded Projects
National Science Foundation, CBET No. 2133423, ECO-CBET: Sustainability from the Bottom Up: A Holistic Solution to Balancing the N-Cycle, 9/1/2021 – 8/31/2025, Gilbertson PI, Co-PI: Emily Elliott (Geoscience, Pitt), Steve Little (Chemical Eng., Pitt).
National Science Foundation, CBET No. 2039823 CAREER: Combining Materials Science and System- Level Analysis to Sustainably Supply Safe Drinking Water 5/1/2021 – 4/30/2026, Gilbertson PI.
National Science Foundation, CBET No. 1709031, SusChEM: Collaborative Research: Decoupling Structure and Surface Chemistry Impacts of Carbon Nanomaterials on Environmentally Relevant Electrochemical and Biological Activity. 9/1/2017 – 8/31/2020.