Dr. Kyriaki Kalaitzidou focuses on manufacturing polymeric materials and structures, including the synthesis of polymers and polymer composites, to develop energy-efficient products and processes using renewable materials and sustainable and environmentally friendly methods. 

Her work takes advantage of the unique properties of nanomaterials to yield far-reaching applications, such as lightweight composites for automotive use, utilizing biodegradable polymers from renewable resources instead of petroleum-based polymers. 

“Lately, I’ve been moving more into the idea of a circular economy,” said Dr. Kyriaki Kalaitzidou. “We consider how you can reuse a material, recycle it, and repurpose it to delay it from going to the landfill. We’re not quite at the level of a circular economy yet, but we do expand the service and lifetime of the material.” 

With this focus in mind, Dr. Kalaitzidou’s recent work has included converting waste-trims of high-value carbon fiber prepregs from the aerospace industry into low-cost, high-performance composites for the automotive industry and recycling end-of-life wood to create structural composites for thermal insulation of buildings. By considering recyclability and reusability at the early stage of designing a material, she is able to incorporate end-of-life strategies into it, rather than leaving it as an afterthought. 

“Applications vary by industry, but the question that always drives our work is: Can you make something lighter and stronger that lasts longer using fewer resources?” 

Achieving sustainability via polymeric manufacturing: Using renewable materials and introducing end-of-life strategies into polymeric structures in the design/manufacturing stage 

ACTIVITIES

• Manufacturing polymeric materials with end-of-life strategy in mind: Synthesizing adhesives with reversible bonds to facilitate separation and retrieval of multi-layer or multi-material packaging
• Employing sustainable methods for advanced performance: Manufacturing of lightweight polymer composites for increased fuel efficiency of vehicles
• Repurposing of waste into usable material: Developing engineering composites using post-industrial waste streams as feedstocks

LEADERSHIP

• Strategic Coordinator for Circularity of Biomaterials, Renewable Bioproducts Institute (2020–present)
• Associate Chair for Faculty Development, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering (2019–present)
• Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Professor (2019–present)
• Faculty Leadership Apprentice, Office for Vice Provost for Faculty (2021)
• Provost’s Fellow for Faculty Development (2019)
• Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) Fellow (2018) 
• Provost’s Emerging Leaders Program (2018)
• Woodruff Faculty Fellow (2015–2019)