Susan Habas

Susan Habas is a Senior Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), specializing in Nanoscience & Materials Chemistry. She leads research at the Catalytic Carbon Transformation and Scale-Up Center under the Bioenergy Research Topic.

• PhD in Chemistry from University of California at Berkeley
• A.B. in Chemistry/Biochemistry from Wheaton College
• Fulbright Scholar at Massey University

Her research focuses on nanostructured catalysts for selective chemical transformations, scalable solution-phase nanomaterials synthesis, and producing premium biofuels from biomass. Key methodologies include operando DRIFTS and atom trapping in zeolites.

Recent work (2024-2025) emphasizes biomass upgrading mechanisms, copper catalyst stability, and plasma catalysis advancements. Collaborations span 12 institutions with global reach.

Awards:

• NREL Distinguished Member of Research Staff (2021)

Active in catalytic fast pyrolysis, surface chemistry control, and nanoparticle characterization, with 54 total research outputs including patents and technical reports.