Alyssa Hensley

Alyssa Hensley is an Assistant Professor at the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science, Stevens Institute of Technology, affiliated with the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. She holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University (2015) and a BS in Chemical Engineering from New Mexico Institute of Technology (2012).

• Education: PhD (2015) and BS (2012) in Chemical Engineering
• Experience: Postdoctoral Fellow (University of Toronto, 2018-2021) and Postdoctoral Research Assistant (Washington State University, 2016-2018)
• Teaching: Courses include Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics I (CHE 233) and Reactor Design (CHE 650)

Her research focuses on heterogeneous catalysis for energy and sustainability, addressing fundamental challenges in connecting nanoscale catalyst surface dynamics to chemical bond activation. Key areas include computational modeling of multi-component catalysts, machine learning applications, and reaction mechanism analysis for biomass/plastic waste conversion and CO₂ capture.

Recent work explores configurational space sampling, transition state identification, and catalyst design using density functional theory and data science. Publications highlight reactions involving Pt, Fe, and PdFe surfaces with applications in CO oxidation, guaiacol hydrogenolysis, and hydrodeoxygenation.

Professional service includes editorial roles (Scientific Reports, Nature Communications), NSF and DOE proposal review, and conference organization (AIChE, ACS meetings). She contributes to institutional committees including Research Computing and Curriculum Development.