Elsa Olivetti

Elsa Olivetti serves as the Jerry McAfee (1940) Professor of Engineering in MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Strategic Advisor to the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, and Mission Director for the MIT Climate Project. She leads MIT's involvement in the REMADE Institute (Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions) within the Materials Research Laboratory.

Her educational background includes a BS in engineering science from the University of Virginia and a PhD in materials science and engineering from MIT.

Professor Olivetti's research focuses on improving materials sustainability across operational, industrial network, and market levels. Key initiatives include advancing recycled/renewable material integration, designing for recyclability, optimizing waste disposition systems, and analyzing market impacts of material substitution and dematerialization. Her work bridges materials science, environmental engineering, and systems analysis to address global sustainability challenges.

Recent publications reveal a strong trend toward AI-driven sustainable materials development, particularly in construction. Her team pioneers applications of large language models for literature mining, Bayesian optimization for concrete design, and data-driven screening of cementitious alternatives, demonstrating how computational methods accelerate eco-friendly material innovation.

As lead principal investigator for MIT's REMADE Institute, she directs significant federally funded research on reducing embodied energy in materials production. Her work involves cross-sector collaboration with industry partners to translate laboratory findings into industrial practice, supported by MIT's institutional infrastructure including the Materials Research Laboratory.