Rate My Professor Magda Barecka

Magda Barecka is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University with a joint appointment in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, where she joined in August 2022. She earned her BSc in Environmental Engineering in 2012 and MSc in Chemical and Process Engineering in 2013 from Lodz University of Technology in Poland, followed by a PhD in Chemical Engineering from TU Dortmund University in Germany in 2017. Prior to her current position, she completed postdoctoral training at the University of Cambridge Research Centre in Singapore (CARES), worked in the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals sector in Switzerland designing manufacturing lines, and developed methodologies for implementing intensified technologies in chemical manufacturing, overseeing their transfer to industry. She holds several patents and is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and AIChE Singapore Local Chapter.

Barecka's research centers on electrochemical methods for transforming carbon dioxide into valuable chemical building blocks to enable a carbon-neutral economy. Through the Barecka Lab, she employs electrochemical techniques, analytical chemistry, surface characterization, and in-house modeling to understand CO2 electrolysis pathways, design efficient reactors, and conduct techno-economic analyses for scalability. Her group addresses challenges in using dilute CO2 from air for large-scale production of chemicals for healthcare, hygiene, materials, and clothing. Key publications include 'CO2 electroreduction favors carbon isotope 12C over 13C and facilitates isotope separation' (iScience, 2023), 'Techno-economic assessment of emerging CO2 electrolysis technologies' (STAR Protocols, 2021), 'CO2 on-site recycling: retrofit technology for carbon neutral manufacturing' (iScience, 2021), 'Economically viable CO2 electroreduction embedded within ethylene oxide manufacturing' (Energy & Environmental Science, 2021), and 'A novel approach for process retrofitting through process intensification: ethylene oxide case study' (Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2017). She received the 2026 Faculty Research Team Award and was selected as an inaugural advisory board member for Chem Circularity journal. As principal investigator, she leads a $986,200 U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E GREENWELLS project titled 'Modular Electrochemical Ethanol Production Using Intermittent Power' (2024), and serves as co-principal investigator on a $500,000 ARPA-E CREATE project 'Accelerating Electrocatalyst Innovation: High-Throughput Automated Microkinetic, Multiscale, and Techno-economic Modeling' with colleagues Richard West and Qing Zhao.