Sustainable Systems Engineering Laboratory

Recent News

January 2026: Cassidy and Matthew will be working on our new URCA project! [link]
December 2025: Nhi Tran joins our group as a PhD student. Welcome, Nhi!
December 2025: Kashfy Gazi, Ismat Haque, and Kyumin Oh join our group as undergraduate researchers. Welcome!
December 2025: Prof. Aurora's project has been selected for funding through the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program! This award will support two undergraduate students to work in our lab. [link]
December 2025: Our review paper, "Artificial intelligence and machine learning for process and policy design in the transition towards circular economy systems: advancements and opportunities," has been accepted for publication in Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering [link].
December 2025: Congratulations to Matthew for accepting a summer internship position at Momentive Performance Materials! [link]
November 2025: Prof. Aurora was elected as one of the new Directors for the AIChE Environmental Division (starting in 01/2026).

Research Overview

Our group aims to develop computational tools that provide insights into the design of sustainable products and technologies. Our methodological work focuses on four broad topics: (1) multi-scale process design, (2) technology pathway analysis, (3) sustainable supply chains, and (4) environmental and social justice.

Our research interests include:

Mathematical Modeling and Optimization
Process Design and Systems Engineering
Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment

Potential applications: Plastics Recycling, Waste Management, Clean Energy Technologies, Food, Pharmaceuticals, and Textiles Manufacturing

Selected Publications

A. C. Munguía-López, X. G. Sánchez-Zarco, and A. Owusu-Boateng (2025). Process Systems Engineering Approaches for Sustainable Plastics Management. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 64, 27, 13519–13535. Selected as Front Cover of the issue. Open Access [link].
U.M. Ikegwu, P. Zhou, R.C. Van Lehn, V.M. Zavala, and A.C. Munguia-Lopez (2025). A Fast Computational Framework for the Design of Solvent-Based Plastic Recycling Processes. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 199, 109148 [link]. Preprint available [link].
A.C. Munguia-Lopez, D. Goreke, K.L. Sanchez-Rivera, H.A. Aguirre-Villegas, S. Avraamidou, G.W. Huber, and V.M. Zavala (2023). Quantifying the Environmental Benefits of a Solvent-Based Separation Process for Multilayer Plastic Films. Green Chemistry, 25(4):1611-25. [link]
A.C. Munguia-Lopez, V.M. Zavala, J.E. Santibanez-Aguilar, and J.M. Ponce-Ortega (2020). Optimization of Municipal Solid Waste Management using a Coordinated Framework. Waste Management, 115, 15-24. [link]

Read more about our publications: [link]