CAPTURE Academy

Pieter Nachtergaele (°1992) is postdoctoral researcher and educator at the department of Green Chemistry and Technology at Ghent University. He holds a Ph.D. in Bioscience Engineering: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology. In 2016, he was active in industry at the oleochemical chemical company Oleon as process engineer. In 2017, he obtained a VLAIO Baekeland mandate, and started his PhD research in cooperation with Oleon and the sustainable systems engineering (STEN) research group at Ghent University. Within his PhD, he developed general methodologies for applying statistical and mechanistic modelling to biorefinery processes, able to account for a variable feedstock composition and quality. His current research focusses on renewable resources in the chemical industry, sustainable packaging solutions and the end-of-life treatment of plastic packaging. He is especially interested in applying process systems engineering tools (Industry 4.0, machine learning, life cycle assessment) to advance the transition to a bio-based and circular economy.

Gwenny Thomassen is a post-doctoral researcher at Ghent University and the University of Antwerp. She obtained her master degree in bioscience engineering at the KU Leuven in 2014. In 2018, she successfully defended her PhD in Business Economics at Hasselt University in cooperation with the Flemish Institute on Technological Research (VITO), focusing on the integration of environmental and techno-economic assessment methods for algae-based biorefineries. In 2019, she started her research for the Circular Economy Policy Research Center, where she investigated the effect of technological learning on circular technologies. In 2022, she became the junior manager of the new Circular Economy Policy Research Center, also leading the research cluster on scenario analysis. Gwenny has a broad expertise in techno-economic assessments, life cycle assessments and material flow analyses applied to a wide variety of case studies such as energy technologies, algae and plastic packaging.

Dr. Erasmo Cadeno 
Since 2021, Erasmo Cadena has been working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN) group at the faculty of Biosciences Engineering at Ghent University (Belgium). His areas of interest are linked to sustainability assessments, bio-based economy, waste management, and aquaculture. Erasmo combines his research activities with teaching courses at bachelor and master level such as clean technology. Throughout his career, he has participated in several initiatives at the European level in which he has focused on the study of the social, environmental and economic impacts of various classical and innovative systems in fields of study such as biomass valorization, water treatment, batteries, materials, among others. Erasmo has an academic background in Environmental Engineering, and holds a master's degree and a PhD in Environmental Sciences (specialized in Biotechnology) from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain). During his doctoral and postdoctoral studies, he made stays in different Universities, such as Università degli Studi di Milano and Cambridge University.

Martin Skelton
Martin Skelton is a researcher in the Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN) research group at Ghent University. His research focuses on sustainability analysis of plastics recycling methods, with a particular focus on chemical recycling via pyrolysis. His work has included LCA, but also material flow analysis and development and application of circular economy indicators. He obtained his B.Sc. from MIT in the department of Materials Science & Engineering before following a M.Sc. program in Industrial Ecology at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden). He also has several years of varied industry experience, including working with the Material Flow team at Tesla's Gigafactory 1 and as a process engineer at Boston Microsystems (acquired by Pall, Inc.), a start-up spun out of the Tuller Lab at MIT. Martin graduated successfully in 2024 as a PhD researcher. Martin contributed to developing the exercises for this MOOC.