Chrysanthos Gounaris

Chrysanthos Gounaris is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), affiliated with the College of Engineering. He is the director of the Shared Computing Facility at CMU and a member of the Center for Advanced Process Decision-Making (CAPD) and the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation. His research focuses on advanced process decision-making, AI-driven optimization, energy systems, decarbonization, materials science, and pharmaceutical development. Gounaris holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University (2008) and previously worked at McKinsey & Co. and as a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton.

• Education:
• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Princeton University (2008)
• M.A. in Chemical Engineering, Princeton University (2005)
• M.Sc. in Automation Systems, National Technical University of Athens (2003)
• Dipl. in Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (2002)

His research interests include process systems engineering, robust optimization, nanostructured materials design, and sustainable energy systems. He collaborates with companies like Eli Lilly to develop optimization tools for pharmaceutical R&D and has secured grants from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Gounaris has advised notable students such as Megan Walsh (AIChE award winner) and Ashlesha Tiple. His work spans computational discovery of materials, vehicle routing optimization, and strategic decision-making under uncertainty. He leads the CAPD, which hosts annual meetings to advance enterprise-wide optimization methodologies.