Peter Ciesielski

Peter Ciesielski is a Researcher V in Materials Science at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), working within the Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center's Advanced Manufacturing research group. His work focuses on bioenergy and biomaterials science, leveraging his interdisciplinary background to develop sustainable solutions using renewable biomass resources.

Ciesielski's research interests span several key areas:

• Advanced Multimodal Microscopy (electron microscopies, 3-D tomography, atomic force microscopy)
• Quantitative Image Analysis and Structural Modeling of plant biopolymers and cell walls
• Surface Science and Electrochemistry for biohybrid systems
• Computational Modeling and Simulation using various programming tools and environments

His research demonstrates a strong interdisciplinary approach, combining materials science, chemical engineering, and computational methods to address challenges in renewable energy and sustainable materials. Ciesielski's publication record shows consistent productivity with 104 total research outputs spanning from 2011 to present, with particularly active years in 2014 and continued productivity through 2025.

Ciesielski has received the NREL Distinguished Member of Research Staff award in 2021, recognizing his significant contributions to the laboratory's mission. His work focuses on key fingerprint areas including Pyrolysis (100%), Fractionation (76%), Feedstock (72%), Surface Science (62%), Pretreatment (59%), Biomass Particle (58%), Lignin (50%), and Fast Pyrolysis (45%).

His educational background includes a Bachelor's degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Colorado State University and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Material Science from Vanderbilt University. This foundation supports his current work at the intersection of multiple scientific disciplines, with recent publications showing increasing incorporation of computational methods and machine learning techniques in his research approach.