Lauren Mellinger

Biography
Lauren Mellinger received her B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2025. At Georgia Tech, Lauren researched the mechanochemical depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and its potential application for industrial use. She worked as an intern for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago as a maintenance and operations intern in 2022, where she led construction projects for plant optimization. She also interned in the paper division of Nalco Water as an industrial technical sales intern in 2024, where she led three optimization projects on microorganism and defoamer use in the paper mill. Lauren is currently pursuing a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and is co-advised by Dr. Manish Kumar and Dr. Alexandra Clarà Saracho. She is interested in developing biomimetic membranes for selective ion transport to recover ammonium from the microbially induced carbonate process.