Kandis Leslie Abdul-Aziz

Kandis Leslie Gillard-Abdul Aziz is an American chemical and environmental engineer known for the development of technologies that turn agricultural waste into a filtration system for water. Before joining the University of Southern California, she directed the Sustainable Lab, a diagnostic center for repurposing waste materials into innovative products that offer benefits to society.

Career and research After obtaining her Bachelor's in chemistry in 2007 from Temple University, While she founded her company she simultaneously furthered her education by pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. After completing her Doctorate, Gillard-AbdulAziz became an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside in 2018, working in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering department. Additionally in 2020, a paper she helped cowrite on ways to turn Lignin into fuel was published.

Gillard-AbdulAziz was recognized as one of the top up-and-coming minds in the 2022 issue of the Popular Science magazine "The Brilliant 10." She also explores converting plastic trash and developing absorbent materials to capture and reuse carbon dioxide emissions, aiming to create practical recycling solutions for a more sustainable circular economy. Her work, recently recognized with a 2024 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry, aims to create recyclable products and mitigate global warming by developing innovative reuse processes. Her research has also been pivotal in advancing sustainable chemical processes for low-carbon chemical production. Notably, her development of carbon sequestration technologies for direct methanation in an integrated CO2 capture and utilization process represents a significant step towards enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of CO2 conversion technologies. Continuing with her career she has initiated an annual graduate preparation retreat for first-year graduate women in engineering, undergraduate research opportunities, and hands-on engineering activities for K-18 girls.

As of 2024, She held the position of WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California.

Awards

2024 Alfred P. Sloan Sloan Research Fellow 2023 Department of Energy Early Career Award (Materials Chemistry) 2022 National Science Foundation Career Award (CBET - Catalysis) 2022 Material Science of Extreme Environments Young Investigator Award 2021 Frontiers of Engineering Fellow hosted by the National Academy of Engineers