Sara Green ’14PhD, Outstanding Young Alum 2023

Sara Green
PhD, Chemical Engineering, 2014 
Global Hydroprocessing Catalyst Solutions Lead for ExxonMobil  

Sara Green graduated from Smith College in 2006 with a BS in General Engineering and a minor in Chemistry, and then spent spent three years working as an environmental engineer with the U.S. EPA. Sara attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 2009 to 2014 and earned her PhD in Chemical Engineering, with research focusing on the production of renewable fuels and chemicals from biomass derived compounds. She first worked for Professor George Huber and studied the use of polymer electrolyte (PEM) fuel cells to make gasoline additives, and then for Professor Paul Dauenhauer in the production of plastic precursors using zeolite catalysts. Collaboration and insight from Professors Wei Fan, Curt Conner, and Scott Auerbach (UMass Chemistry Department) were critical for her research. She joined ExxonMobil as a research engineer in 2014 and has worked on teams overseeing pilot plant programs, participating in commercial unit start-ups, leading major capital projects, and developing the ExxonMobil Renewable Diesel process. Sara's current role is the Global Hydroprocessing Catalyst Solutions Lead, in which she acts as a liaison between third party catalyst vendors and the ExxonMobil refineries to deliver the best catalyst solutions.