Julie B. Zimmerman
Associate Professor of Green Engineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Acting Director
Center for Green Chemistry & Green Engineering
Yale University

 

Dr. Julie Beth Zimmerman is an Associate Professor jointly appointed to the Department of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Program and the School of Forestry and Environment. Her research interests broadly focus on green chemistry and engineering with specific emphasis on green downstream processing and life cycle assessment of algal biomass for fuels and value-added chemicals as well as novel biobased sorbents for purification of drinking water and remediation of industrial wastewater.  Other ongoing focus areas include the design of safer chemicals from first principles and the implications of nanomaterials on human health and the environment.  Further, to enhance the likelihood of successful implementation of these next generation designs, Dr. Zimmerman studies the effectiveness and impediments of current and potential policies developed to advance sustainability. Together, these efforts represent a systematic and holistic approach to addressing the challenges of sustainability to enhance water and resource quality and quantity, to improve environmental protection, and to provide for a higher quality of life.

Dr. Zimmerman previously served as an Engineer and program coordinator in the office of Research and Development at the United States Environmental Protection Agency where she managed sustainability research grants and created EPA's P3 (People, Prosperity, and the Planet) Award program. She received a joint PhD from the University of Michigan in Environmental Engineering and Natural Resource Policy.

Download CV

Research Interests
  • Environmentally-Benign Chemicals and Materials 
    The quest for safer substitutes and alternatives to our current chemicals can only be advanced if those
    substitutes are designed and brought into existence by scientists and engineers.     (more)

  • Water Treatment Technologies for Developing Communities
    The World Health Organization, in its Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report, estimates that 1.1 billion people do not have access to an improved water supply.  The quality of drinking water and sanitation services is directly linked to human health.     (more)

  • Policy Design in Advancing Sustainability 
    Policy at the regional, national, and global scale impacts the generation and dissemination of innovative technologies to advance sustainability.  Policies that drive sustainability through leap-frog technologies in an industrially globalized world will be imperative to address the current environmental, economic and social contrasts between the developed and developing world. (more)

  • Corporate Environmental Behavior
    There are a number of motivators of corporate environmental behavior, including costs, customer demand, profitability, corporate or industry culture, geography, competitive environment, technological capability, and government interventions. However, motivations are not the same for all companies and facilities in regard to their environmentally- or socially-responsible behavior. (more)
Affiliations

SERVICE

Editorial Services
Associate Editor, Environmental Science and Technology, 2012 – present.
Editorial Advisory Board, Environmental Science and Technology, 2010 – 2012.
Guest Editor, Environmental Science and Technology, "The World's Water" special issue published June 15, 2008.
Editorial Board, Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy, January 2007 – present.
Editorial Board, Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Development: Energy, Environment, and Health, September 2006 – present.

Government Advisory Committees and Committee Memberships
Member, Green Ribbon Science Panel, Department of Toxic Substances Control, State of California, 2009 – present.
Witness, House Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, draft legislation – "Electronic Waste Research Development Act of 2009", February 11, 2009.

Conference/Association Advisory Committees
Organizing Committee, 2nd International Symposium on Green Chemistry: Renewable carbon and Eco-efficient Processes (ISGC-2), Poitiers, France, May 21 – 24, 2013.
Member, Science Advisory Board, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, 2011 – present.
Member, Selection Committee, Ontario Research Chairs in Green Chemistry and Engineering, Council of Ontario Universities, Ontario, Canada, 2010.
Member, NSF US-Japan Workshop on Industrial Ecology/Life Cycle Analysis for Sustainable Infrastructure Materials, Sapparo, Japan, 2009.
Member, Advisory Board, Rocky Mountain Institute, Factor 10 Engineering (10xE), 2009 – present.
Steering Committee, International Conference and Workshop on Sustainable Green Building Design And Construction, Cairo, Egypt, March 8-11, 2009.
Programming Committee, Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, 2003-2007.
Organizing Committee, International Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, 2003-2004.

Professional Societies
Member, Governing Board, Green Chemistry Institute, American Chemical Society, 2010 – present.
Chair, Green Chemistry and Engineering Subdivision, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Division, American Chemical Society, January 2007 – January 2008.

ASSOCIATIONS
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Engineers without Borders (EwB)