PhD student Reginaldo (Reggie) Gomes conducts research to find new ways to simultaneously capture carbon dioxide and create more sustainable products. (Photo by John Zich)
Growing up in Brazil, Reginaldo (Reggie) Gomes liked chemistry so much that he offered to stay after class to clean the glassware and dispose of the reagents—anything to spend more time in the lab.
“I was just fascinated by transformations enabled by chemistry,” he said. He didn’t know it then, but one experiment would give him a preview of his graduate research career: producing bubbles through water electrolysis.
“Now I’m using electrochemistry to solve global problems,” he said.
As a PhD student in the lab of Asst. Prof. Chibueze Amanchukwu at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME), Gomes has conducted research to find new ways to simultaneously capture carbon dioxide and create more sustainable products.
Leveraging tools of electrochemistry—the science that controls chemical transformations using electrical energy—Gomes has designed new electrolytes that can more efficiently convert CO2 into valuable molecules. Such reactions could help reduce the impact of greenhouse gases while creating new, clean fuel and chemical sources, including ethanol and ethylene.
“Now I’m using electrochemistry to solve global problems.”
“Plants recycle CO2 from the atmosphere, using solar energy and water to transform it into glucose,” he said. “Electrochemistry can drive similar reactions, offering a modular and scalable path to chemical transformations. That’s my inspiration. That’s how we can mitigate problems created by CO2 emissions and transform that liability into new assets. That’s how I can help provide one small step toward solving the challenge of global climate change.”
Drawn to research from his experience as an undergraduate at the University of Campinas, Gomes spent time in the U.S. as an exchange student—and knew he wanted to return later as a graduate student. UChicago Pritzker Molecular Engineering provided a new way of looking at engineering across disciplines.
“At UChicago PME, I had the opportunity to work with Professor Amanchukwu, a chemical engineer like myself, who also expertly bridges electrochemistry and materials science in his work,” Gomes said. “He invests the time and commitment to develop a new generation of scientists like me.”
Photo by John Zich
As a first-generation college student and emerging scientist and engineer, Gomes wants to do his part to pass along the inspiration of science to the next generation, too. Throughout his graduate school career, he has mentored young students at UChicago and overseas, ultimately earning honorary mention for PME’s Maria Lastra Excellence in Mentoring Award. “Outreach is a substantial building block of being a scientist,” he said.
Outside of the lab, he co-founded a Brazilian Graduate Student Association throughout the Chicago area. He also spends time exploring the city and enjoying Lake Michigan—“though as a Brazilian, I’m used to warmer waters,” he laughed.
As a culmination to his graduate school career, he was recently chosen as a CAS Future Leader. The American Chemical Society (ACS) program honors exceptional PhD students from around the world. CAS Future Leaders form a cohort that will spend a week together before the ACS meeting in the fall, with the idea that the group will be a special network of potential collaborators throughout the honorees’ lives. “I’m honored to be representing the University of Chicago there,” Gomes said.
And as he graduates this June, Gomes hopes to embark on a career where he can collaborate closely with industry and social organizations to translate research into real change. “What drives me every day is the belief that science has always been humanity’s most powerful tool to overcome seemingly unbeatable challenges,” he said.
