Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Environmental and Ecological Engineering
School of Environmental & Ecological Engineering.
School of Mechanical Engineering.
Professor Zhao leads the S.E.T.S. Lab with a focus on life cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and circularity strategies for critical materials and energy systems. The group combines data-driven modeling with systems thinking to translate research insights into actionable sustainability pathways.
Venkat Roy is a PhD candidate in Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University, working under the supervision of Prof. Fu Zhao, and co-founder of Green Leaps, a software startup. His research focuses on novel methods for environmental impact assessment, particularly developing a spatial Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) method that visualizes and tracks impacts occurring in different parts of the life cycle through geospatial analysis.
His notable work includes helping Oak Ridge National Lab assess lithium extraction technology, finding that the innovative technology uses one-third the material and one-third the energy compared to standard processes, published work on life cycle assessment of lithium extraction from Nevada clays, and being part of the GaCycle team that won the 2025 DOE Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize for developing a microorganism-based solution to extract gallium from e-waste. He is also involved in developing an integrated technoeconomic, lifecycle, and circularity analyses tool for EV batteries as part of ARPA-E's CIRCULAR program.
Prior to his current academic pursuits, he worked as an R&D engineer in additive manufacturing. He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego and a BTech from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras.
Xiaohan Wu is a PhD candidate in the School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering at Purdue University. His research focuses on the environmental and techno-economic assessment of innovative, low-carbon technologies in the non-ferrous metal sector. His current work integrates Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA), and dynamic Material Flow Analysis (MFA) to evaluate processes such as microbial copper extraction, gallium recovery from e-waste, and carbon capture in comminution.
Xiaohan has published papers in Sustainable Production and Consumption, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, and the ASME MSEC Conference Proceedings. He was awarded the DOE E-SCRAP Prize in 2025 and serves on the Executive Board of the Industrial Symbiosis Section of ISIE.
Outside of research, Xiaohan enjoys playing the violin, practicing traditional Chinese calligraphy, playing basketball, and singing. He is also a big basketball fan and closely follows both college and professional games.
Yue Yao is from Shanxi, China, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental and Ecological Engineering under supervision of Professor Sutherland and Professor Zhao. Yue received her B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Lanzhou University in China. She completed her M.S. program of Industrial Ecology at Leiden University and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Before coming to Purdue, she worked as an environmental consultant for the China Building Materials Federation and the Environmental Development Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China. Her research mainly focuses on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with emphasis on regional characterization. She is now working on the Critical Materials Institute (CMI) of the U.S. Department of Energy projects related to the integration of LCA into eco-design of emerging technologies.
Aristotelis Lygizos is a PhD student in the School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering at Purdue University. His research focuses on life cycle assessment (LCA), circular economy strategies, solid waste and e-waste management.
He currently contributes to the ARPA-E CIRCULAR project, where he is involved in developing the Integrated Technoeconomic, Lifecycle, and Circularity Analyses Tool for EV Batteries, a novel software platform designed to support informed decision-making in battery recycling and reuse. As part of this effort, he leads the design and integration of circular economy (CE) indicators to evaluate material circularity, end-of-life strategies, and system-level sustainability across EV battery lifecycles. Previously, Aristotelis conducted research at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) on the recycling and circular economy of polymer materials.
He holds an Integrated Master’s degree in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the Technical University of Crete (TUC), where he authored a research paper on reverse logistics network design for EV batteries. This work was presented at the 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Chemical and Environmental Engineering in 2024. Outside of academics, Aristotelis enjoys reading, practicing photography, swimming, and spending time outdoors.
Cecilia Flores is a PhD student in Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University. Her research focuses on battery recycling and life cycle assessment (LCA).
She earned her BS in Chemical Engineering from Penn State in 2021. She was a battery research engineer at Innosense LLC, contributing to Department of Defense projects on battery materials and manufacturing processes.
She also served as a research analyst in the Dynamic Sustainability Lab at Syracuse University, supporting a USDA report on bioeconomic indicators. Her background spans electrochemistry, materials processing, and environmental systems, with experience in research and industry settings.
Lakshmi Srinivasan is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, specializing in life cycle assessment, thermodynamics, and sustainable energy systems.
Her research focuses on quantifying the carbon footprint of industrial heat treatment processes through physics-based modeling, life cycle inventories, and techno-economic analysis. She has also worked on biomanufacturing process assessments and energy systems optimization for decarbonization goals.
Her work has been accepted at the ASME International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference. Lakshmi is a recipient of the Hommert Engineering Excellence Fellowship from the School of Mechanical Engineering. She holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, with her research focusing on the analysis of combustion properties of ammonia-hydrogen fuel blends and predictive cost-of-operation modeling for coal power plants during load cycling conditions. Outside of research, she enjoys dancing, teaching dance to kids at the community center, volunteering for STEM outreach, and supporting sustainability initiatives.
Max Levinson is a first-year master's student in Mechanical Engineering from Durham, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2023 with majors in Neuroscience and Philosophy.
His research in the S.E.T.S. group is part of SequestStar, a collaborative project that aims to use microalgae to capture carbon from desalination plant wastewater. In his free time, Max likes to make music, rock-climb, and play volleyball.
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