Pengbo Chu

Pengbo Chu’s research focuses on sustainable resource extraction, critical minerals and materials, and the development of new technologies for mineral processing and metal recovery. His work spans primary and secondary resources, including lithium sedimentary claystones, rare earth ores, mine tailings, electronic wastes, and spent lithium-ion batteries. He is also interested in space mining and in the use of emerging technologies to improve engineering education.

In a world increasingly shaped by clean energy transitions, electrification, and growing demand for critical materials, society faces the challenge of securing mineral resources while reducing environmental impacts. Chu’s research addresses this challenge by developing more efficient, selective, and sustainable approaches for extracting, separating, and recovering valuable metals from complex and low-grade resources. His work combines mineral processing and extractive metallurgy, materials characterization, life cycle assessment, and process design to improve the recovery of critical materials.

Chu’s research is highly interdisciplinary and connects fundamental interfacial science with applied resource engineering. His earlier work on bubble formation, flotation, and particle separation provides a foundation for his current research on beneficiation, leaching, carbonation, tailings reprocessing, and battery recycling. He also explores how artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and immersive learning tools can support engineering education, workforce development, and decision-making in mining and materials processing.

Chu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University. Before joining Columbia, he was the Nevada Gold Mines Professor of Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he led research supported by federal agencies, industry partners, and university programs. He previously worked as a postdoctoral scientist at CanmetMINING, Natural Resources Canada. Chu received his Ph.D., M.Eng., and B.Eng. degrees from McGill University.

He is an active member in the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) and American Chemical Society (ACS). He received several awards recognizing excellence in research and sustainability leadership.