Andres Clarens is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia and the Director of the Virginia Environmentally Sustainable Technologies Laboratory. His research is focused broadly on anthropogenic carbon flows and the ways that CO2 is manipulated, reused, and sequestered in engineered systems. The results of his work are important for developing efficient strategies for mitigating the emissions that are driving climate change. At the largest scales, his system-level modeling work has explored the life cycle of systems in the manufacturing, transportation, and energy sectors. In the laboratory, he is pursuing complementary research in the phase behavior and surface chemistry of carbon dioxide mixtures at high pressure.

The results from this work can be used to provide better lubricants for wind turbines and more accurate assessment of geologic carbon sequestration sites. In the classroom, Prof. Clarens engages in peer-to-peer learning at both the undergraduate and graduate level with an emphasis on developing innovative tools for teaching the fundamentals of climate change. In his spare time, he enjoys running, backpacking, fly-fishing, and traveling. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia, and an M.S.E. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan.