Ana Inés Torres
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering
Ana Inés Torres is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research lies in the general area of process systems engineering and focuses on sustainability. Her current activities are in three broad areas: (i) the decarbonization of the chemical industry, with an emphasis on electrification and utilization of biomass for fuels and chemicals, and (ii) the recovery and reuse of materials, with an emphasis on the development of theories for the analysis of circular economy initiatives and (iii) the design of environmentally-friendly processes for the recovery of rare earths.
Torres earned her BS in chemistry in 2003 and a diploma in chemical engineering in 2005, both from the Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay. After a number of years of industrial experience, she moved to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She completed her postdoctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Most recently, Torres served as faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Universidad de la República, Montevideo, in Uruguay.
Torres received the NSF CAREER award in 2024, was selected as a consultant for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 2024, and serves as an associate editor of Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. She has been an invited speaker at the FOCAPD Conference 2024 and the FOCAPO / CPC Conference 2023, as well as at many other conferences and universities, and she was a keynote speaker at the Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering Incorporating the 68th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference in 2018.
Chemical Engineering and the Circular Economy
CMU Energy Research Summit Power Talk
Education
2013 Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota
2005 Diploma Chemical Engineering, Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay
2003 BS Chemistry,, Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay
Media mentions
Mellon College of Science
Torres featured for work in sustainable chemistry
The work of ChemE’s Ana Torres was recently highlighted in a story by CMU’s Mellon College of Science as she collaborates with several other researchers in reducing the amounts of chemical pollutants in our environments.
Chemical Engineering
Maximizing circularity in plastics supply chains
Ana Inés Torres develops frameworks for designing circular economy networks to achieve sustainability goals. The research can help leaders in industry and government make better decisions.
CMU Engineering
2025 Dean’s Early Career Fellows announced
The College of Engineering congratulates Sang Chalacheva, Vanessa Chen, Amanda Krause, and Ana Ines Torres, who received this year’s Dean’s Early Career Fellowships awards.
Chemical Engineering
Optimizing the recovery of rare earth elements
In response to increasing demand for rare earth elements, Ana Torres is modeling rare earth recovery systems to design processes that will be environmentally friendly and economically competitive.
Chemical Engineering
Circular economy project brings seniors full circle
Chemical engineering seniors create a conceptual design and economic evaluation for a process to chemically recycle plastic.
Chemical Engineering
Scott Institute announces 2025 seed grant winners
This year’s seed awards will help grow research in clean hydrogen production, AI hardware efficiency, and decarbonizing transportation.
Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation
Scott Institute announces 2025 seed grant winners
This year’s seed awards will help grow research in clean hydrogen production, AI hardware efficiency, and decarbonizing transportation.
Engineering and Public Policy
Scott Institute announces 2025 seed grant winners
This year’s seed awards will help grow research in clean hydrogen production, AI hardware efficiency, and decarbonizing transportation.
CMU Engineering
Interdisciplinary team partners to develop advanced alloys
Materials science and engineering and chemical engineering faculty will collaborate on projects supported by the Naval Nuclear Laboratory to create additively manufactured structural alloys that can sustain extreme environments.
Chemical Engineering
Student spotlight: Victor Soria
Through the Fulbright program, master’s student Victor Soria is preparing to serve as a policy liaison between the US and Europe, with a focus on sustainable aviation fuels.
CMU Engineering
Torres awarded NSF CAREER award
Chemical Engineering’s Ana Inés Torres was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award for her research in circular economies.
PASA 2023
Chemical Engineering faculty featured at PASI 2023
ChemE’s Larry Biegler, Ignacio Grossmann, Carl Laird, and Ana Torres served as instructors and speakers during a four-day intensive course hosted by the Pan-American Advanced Studies Institute on Optimization and Data Science for Net-Zero Carbon and Sustainability (PASI) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.