Abstract: The “green energy transition” and initiatives to expand domestic supply chains are placing an unprecedented demand on critical elements. While recycling technologies are promising, even with the best possible recovery efficiency, recycling itself will not fulfill the demand. Therefore, the only option is to harvest these elements from mineral deposits, but current extraction methods can leave considerable amounts of toxic waste and focus on high-concentration elements of economic value, leaving many other elements behind. Securing critical elements has become the “Apollo” challenge of our time, a challenge that only can be solved with innovation. Synthetic biology, in combination with mineralogy and geochemistry, provides a new frontier for critical elements innovation. My lab in collaboration with Buz Barstow’s lab (Cornell, CEE) developed an interdisciplinary project to engineer microbes capable of extracting rare earth elements (needed for wind turbines, batteries, alloys, etc.) from phosphate minerals and separating them with selectivity under more favorable environmental conditions than the ones currently used. We are now focusing on harvesting nickel and cobalt (critical for batteries) while simultaneously sequestering carbon from atmosphere from ultramafic rocks. Our data suggest that for olivine dissolution, direct interaction with engineered microbes significantly increased reactions rates compared to inorganic or organic acids. Last year, with the support of the National Science Foundation, we launched a Global Center to build an Atlas for Microbe-Mineral Interactions focusing on the discovery of fundamental processes needed for the development of sustainable biomining solutions. 

Bio: Geology is the passion of Gazel’s life. Since his childhood, earthquakes and volcanoes have motivated his curiosity to understand the secrets of the planet. His team studies processes in our planet’s interior that produce magmas, volcanoes, and contribute to planetary evolution. Population growth, the risk of natural hazards, climate change, and the need for new suitable energy solutions increase the need for highly trained Earth scientists. His mission is to contribute to the education of the next generations and bring solutions to these challenges.
 

This event is presented as part of the 2026 Perspectives on the Climate Change Challenge Seminar Series:

• Most Mondays, Spring Semester 2026, 2:55-4:10 p.m.
• 155 Olin Hall & Zoom

This university-wide seminar series is open to the public (via Zoom), and provides important views on the critical issue of climate change, drawing from many perspectives and disciplines. Experts from Cornell University and beyond present an overview of the science of climate change and climate change models, the implications for agriculture, ecosystems, and food systems, and provide important economic, ethical, and policy insights on the issue. The seminar is being organized and sponsored by the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering and Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.