Drew Higgins

Drew Higgins serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University. His research profile demonstrates extensive scholarly activity with numerous publications spanning electrocatalysis, CO₂ conversion technologies, and energy storage systems. Higgins leads research initiatives focused on converting carbon emissions to usable fuels and has secured significant funding, including McMaster's $4.2M award for critical minerals research.

His research interests center on electrocatalysis for sustainable energy technologies, with particular emphasis on CO₂ reduction, nanoscale catalyst development, and advanced characterization techniques. Higgins' work bridges fundamental electrochemical principles with practical applications for addressing climate change through carbon capture and utilization. His research group employs sophisticated in situ characterization methods including X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy to understand catalyst behavior under operating conditions.

The publication trends reveal a strong focus on electrochemical CO₂ conversion, with recent work exploring tandem catalysis systems, membrane electrode assemblies, and catalyst reconstruction phenomena. His research spans both fundamental catalyst design and practical engineering applications for energy conversion systems. Higgins has made significant contributions to understanding the atomic-scale mechanisms behind electrocatalytic processes, particularly for carbon dioxide reduction and nitrogen cycle electrochemistry.

Higgins teaches core chemical engineering courses including Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering (CHEMENG 4EC3/6EC3) and Chemical Engineering Principles I (CHEMENG 2D04). His scholarly impact is evident through extensive citation metrics, with multiple publications picked up by news outlets, referenced in patents, and widely read across academic platforms like Mendeley.