معرفی
Leanne Gilbertson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on understanding material interactions at environmental and biological interfaces to develop sustainable design guidelines for nanomaterials, ensuring their safe and effective use in products.
At the molecular-level, she investigates chemical composition and atomic arrangement of nanomaterials like graphene, carbon nanotubes, silver/copper nanoparticles, and natural polymers to control their functional properties and hazard profiles. At the systems-level, she employs life cycle assessment to evaluate environmental, economic, and performance trade-offs of emerging technologies, enabling redesign to minimize upstream and downstream adverse impacts.
The trends in her publications reflect a strong emphasis on nanomaterial sustainability, particularly in
- environmental fate and toxicity of silver and carbon-based nanomaterials
- systems approaches to nano-enabled agriculture
- life cycle assessment of synthesis routes and applications
- design strategies for circular economy
- toxicity mechanisms at biological interfaces
The Gilbertson Group integrates experimental and modeling approaches to inform safer nanomaterial design, with applications in agriculture, water treatment, and environmental health. Her research aims to decouple functional performance from environmental and biological hazards through controlled material engineering.
