Waste Not

At the top of her website, Cuiying Jian, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Lassonde School of Engineering, boldly declares that “carbon is cool.”

That sentiment, for the layperson, may seem out of step with the times: after all, carbon emissions have warmed the atmosphere to dangerous levels, and the by-products of carbon-based petrochemicals pollute our environment.

But for Jian, these substances – and the molecular and atomic building blocks they’re made of – hold all sorts of potential. They can be chemically recast into materials that help, rather than harm, the planet.

Her lab at York recently received a $149,000 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant and two major innovation awards for research supporting Canada’s shift to cleaner energy. Jian’s work uses lasers and computer models to transform toxic by-products from oilsands and waste plastics into high-value materials such as graphene.

“This work is about advancing the circular economy,” she explains. “If we really go to the atomic level, all the carbon atoms are there – they just need to be arranged differently so you can create new materials. One day, we might have the precision to arrange these atoms however we want to solve problems linked to waste.”

Originally aiming for theoretical physics, Jian stumbled across mechanical engineering while browsing university catalogues in China. “Mechanical engineering was described as applied physics,” she recalls. “Since I was always doing theoretical physics, I thought, ‘OK, why not try applied physics?’”

One day, we might have the precision to arrange these atoms however we want to solve problems linked to waste

That shift set her on a global research path – through the Harbin Institute of Technology, the University of Alberta and MIT – combining theory with real-world application. In her teaching, she carries that balance forward, encouraging students to merge physics concepts with hands-on projects that result in tangible working models.

Jian’s current research sits at the same intersection. By studying the molecular dynamics and structures of the materials she aims to transform, she can determine how to reconfigure them. With sophisticated computer modelling and high-precision lasers, her team controls where to add heat and energy.

The next step: scaling up the process for industrial use, such as in waste management facilities. The recovered graphene – strong, light and versatile – has wide applications, from racing bikes and outerwear to membranes used in water treatment plants.

“Not only are these new materials not toxic,” she says, “they’re functional materials that can be used in other applications.”  ■