Dr. Jorge Gascon is a professor of chemical engineering at KAUST, recognized asa highly-cited researcher, patent holder and award winning scientist. From 2017 to2024 he served as the Director of the KAUST Catalysis Center, and led theCircular Carbon Initiative between 2021 and 2024. Prior to joining KAUST in 2017,he taught for 11 years at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, where hereached the rank of full professor. Professor Gascon maintains diverseprofessional affiliations, including membership on the editorial advisory board ofChemical Engineering Journal, ACS Catalysis and other scientific journals. Inaddition to his academic career, Gascon is the co-founder and Chief TechnologyOfficer of ClimateCrete, Inc., a Silicon Valley based startup with the mission ofmaking the construction industry more sustainable. ClimateCrete has raised morethan $5 million in Venture Capital investments and is embarking on theconstruction of its first industrial-scale plant. ​

Professor Gascon’s research interests are at the intersection of chemical engineering and materials science, with a focus on the development and demonstration of new reactor concepts, nano-structured materials and composites, with special emphasis on industrial applications. Applications include multifunctional catalysis, Oil to Chemicals, C1 chemistry; Fischer Tropsch Synthesis; methanol to olefins; CO2 valorization and photothermal catalysis. ​