# Kandis Leslie Abdul-Aziz

Dr. Kandis Leslie Gillard-AbdulAziz is an American chemical and environmental engineer known for the development of technologies that turn agricultural waste into a filtration system for water. While previously residing at the University of California, Riverside, she worked as an assistant professor in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department. 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, she secured a role testing the refinery's waste-water and examining refined petroleum goods such as phenol and acetone at a refinery located near the Schuylkill River in South Philadelphia. Gillard-AbdulAziz later worked for the Philadelphia Police Department as a Refinery chemist at Sunoco Chemicals specializing in forensic science from 2009-2011. She then branched out to entrepreneurship and founded her own company called Nardo Technology in 2016, named after Leonardo Da Vinci. While she founded her company she simultaneously furthered her education by pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In the following year, 2017, Abdul-Aziz became a Provost postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania . 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. In 2020, she received a $30,000 Hellman Fellowship to support her development of expandable technology in plastic waste repurposing.
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." Gillard-AbdulAziz focuses on repurposing waste materials such as corn stover and citrus peels into activated carbon filters for environmental cleanup. 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.
Gillard-AbdulAziz holds the Pasqual and Adelina Early Career Chair in Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of Southern California. She leads the Sustainable Catalysis and Materials Laboratory, focusing on transforming waste materials like carbon dioxide, citrus peel and plastic into valuable products through catalysis. 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. Dr. Kandis Leslie Gillard-AbdulAziz's approach involves integrating sustainability and economic viability, with a focus on practical solutions for industry and policymakers.
Her work further centers around innovational approaches to waste management, as sustainable catalysis has garnered much recognition. Dr. Kandis Leslie Gillard-AbdulAziz received a $538,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2021 for her research on converting greenhouse gas into energy chemicals at the University of California Riverside. 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.
Beyond research, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award also supports her commitment to increasing access to sustainability-focused research opportunities for women at various academic levels. 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.
She currently holds 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)