Max Pisciotta

PhD Candidate

Pronouns: they/them/theirs or he/him/his

About Max

Max Pisciotta is a 4th-year PhD Candidate in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at the University of Pennsylvania whose research focuses on carbon capture and carbon removal. This includes process development and testing, techno-economics and life cycle assessment. In addition to their PhD work, Max has earned a Certificate in College and University Teaching and a Certificate in Energy Management and Policy through the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. Max’s contributions to research has won them the Out to Innovate Scholarship for the 2023 - 2024 academic year and the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology (VIEST) Fellowship for the 2022-2023 academic year. Alongside these pursuits, Max will be a co-instructor for the Carbon Management graduate level course in Spring 2024, is also the Vice President of the Lambda Grads student organization, is the Lead Scientist in the upcoming CDR documentary, Legion 44, and serves on the Legion 44 board of advisors.

Since starting at Penn, Max has fulfilled three internships, one with the International Energy Agency (IEA) CCUS Unit during the 2021 summer, one with Brimstone Energy, a company whose novel process has the potential to produce net-negative cement, during the summer of 2022, and one with Queens Carbon, a company who is pursuing cement decarbonization, since the summer of 2023.

Max holds a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering that they obtained from the Colorado School of Mines. Prior to starting their PhD at Penn, they also briefly worked at Accenture as a Technology Analyst.

When Max is not working, they can be found running through Philadelphia, baking, or reading.

Email Max

Connect with Max on LinkedIn

Visit Max's Google Scholar‍

Check out Max's Personal Website

Affiliations / Memberships

2023 - 2024 Chen Family Fellowship

2023 - 2024 Out to Innovate Scholarship Recipient

2023 Research Experience in Carbon Sequestration (RECS) Participant

2023 Perry World House Graduate Essay Prize Winner

2022-2023 Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology (VIEST) Fellowship Recipient

Publications

1. M. Pisciotta, H. Pilorgé, J. Davids, and P. Psarras, "Opportunities for Cement Decarbonization," Cleaner Engineering and Technology, 15, 100667 (2023). Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2023.100667
2. M. Pisciotta, H. Pilorgé, J. Feldmann, R. Jacobson, J. Davids, S. Swett, Z. Sasso, and J. Wilcox, “Current State of Industrial Heating Opportunities for Decarbonization,” Progress in Energy and Combustion Science (2022). Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2021.100982
3. M. Pisciotta, J. Davids, and J. Wilcox, “Greenhouse Gas Removals: Overview and Current Status of Deployment,” Royal Society of Chemistry (2022). Available: https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839165245-00006
4. E. Markey, R. Vercellino, B. Limb, M. Pisciotta, J. Huyett, S. Garland, M. Abarr, P. Psarras, D.R. Herber, J.C. Quinn, T. Bandhauer, "Economic Impact of Thermal Energy Storage on Natural Gas Power with Carbon Capture in Future Electricity Markets," International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. 2024. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2024.104098
5. P. Psarras, M. Pisciotta, H. Pilorgé, "Advancing the Social License for Carbon Management in Achieving Net-Zero GHG Emissions," Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, 2024. Available: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/advancing-the-social-license-for-carbon-management-in-achieving-net-zero-ghg-emissions/
6. R. Vercellino, E. Markey, B.J. Limb, M. Pisciotta, J. Huyett, S. Garland, T. Bandhauer, J.C. Quinn, P. Psarras, D.R. Herber, "Control Co-Design Optimization of Natural Gas Power Plants with Carbon Capture and Thermal Storage," Proceedings of the ASME 2022 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Volume 3A: 28th Design Automation Conference (DAC). St. Louis, Missouri, USA. August 14-17, 2022. Available: https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2022-90021
7. B. Limb, E. Markey, R. Vercellino, S. Garland, M. Pisciotta, P. Psarras, D. Herber, T. Bandhauer, and J. Quinn, “Economic Viability of Using Thermal Energy Storage for Flexible Carbon Capture on Natural Gas Power Plants,” Journal of Energy Storage (2022). Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2022.105836
8. B. Limb, E. Markey, R. Vercellino, J. Huyett, S. Garland, M. Pisciotta, P. Psarras, E. Meuleman, N. Fine, M. Abarr, D.R. Herber, J.C. Quinn, and T. Bandhauer, "Evaluating the Economic Viability of NGCC-SWITCC: Natural Gas Combined Cycle System With Integrated Thermal Storage and Carbon Capture," Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-16). Lyon, France. October 23-27, 2022. Available: https://www.engr.colostate.edu/~drherber/files/Limb2022b.pdf
9. R. Jackson, S. Abernathy, J. Canadell, M. Cargnello, S. Davis, S. Féron, S. Fuss, A. Heyer, C. Hong, C. Jones, H. Matthews, F. O’Connor, M. Pisciotta, H. Rhoda, R. de Richter, E. Solomon, J. Wilcox, and K. Zickfield, “Atmospheric Methane Removal: A Research Agenda,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (2021). Available: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.0454‍
10. N. McQueen, K. Vaz Gomes, C. McCormick, K. Blumanthal, M. Pisciotta, and J.Wilcox, “A Review of Direct Air Capture (DAC): Scaling Up Commercial Technologies and Innovating for the Future,” Progress in Energy (2021). Available: https://doi.org/10.1088/2516-1083/abf1ce
    

Presentations

1. M. Pisciotta, H. Pilorgé, C. Magdolen, and P. Psarras, "Geothermal Energy Coupled to Direct Air Carbon Capture," Gordon Research Conference on CCUS, 2023. Les Diablerets, Switzerland.
2. M. Pisciotta, H. Pilorgé, J. Davids, and P. Psarras, "Opportunities for Cement Decarbonization," Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environmental Systems (SDEWES), 2022. Paphos, Cyprus.
3. M. Pisciotta, B. Limb, E. Markey, R. Vercellino, P. Psarras, D. Herber, J. Quinn, and T. Bandhauer, "Flexible Carbon Capture via Thermal Energy Storage for Natural Gas Electricity Production," Gordon Research Conference on CCUS, 2022. Ventura, California.

Other Media

1. M. Pisciotta 'Geothermal Energy: A Missing Piece in the Equitable Energy Transition,' Perry World House Graduate Essay Prize. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://global.upenn.edu/perryworldhouse/news/geothermal-energy-missing-piece-equitable-energy-transition
2. M. Pisciotta 'Hidden Inconvenience: The Search for Gender-Inclusive Restrooms at UPenn,' Penn Science Policy and Diplomacy Group Blog. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://pennsciencepolicy.squarespace.com/blog/2023/6/9/hidden-inconvenience-the-search-for-gender-inclusive-restrooms-at-upenn
3. M. Pisciotta 'The Challenge in Decarbonizing Cement,' Penn Science Policy and Diplomacy Group Science Shorts. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://pennsciencepolicy.squarespace.com/science-shorts
4. M. Pisciotta, C. Xia, and J. Sanchez, ‘The Road to 10 Gigatons,’ 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.roadto10gigatons.com/ 
5. M. Pisciotta, ‘Ammonia, the Up-and-Coming Carbon-Neutral Fuel,’ Kleinman Center for Energy Policy Blog. 2021 [Online]. Available: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/news-insights/ammonia-the-up-and-coming-carbon-neetural-fuel/
6. K. Lebling, N. McQueen, M. Pisciotta, and J. Wilcox, ‘Direct Air Capture: Resource Considerations and Costs for Carbon Removal,’ World Resources Institute Blog. 2021 [Online]. Available: https://www.wri.org/blog/2021/01/direct-air-capture-definition-cost-considerations