Daniel Kong

Global Challenge: Sustainability

The fight against climate change, and transition to cleaner and more efficient energy sources and storage is a global one that can only be achieved with the collaboration of the world community.

Bio:

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Daniel is a graduating senior at New York University majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He loves the problem-solving nature of chemical engineering and hopes to use those skills and passion to make a positive impact on his community and contribute to solving global challenges. His academic interests are in sustainable energy and pharmaceuticals.

Daniel enjoys exploring these interests at NYU and internships. He is working on a Zinc-Ion power source as the technical coordinator of the Chem-E Car VIP team and is developing a computational model to predict the impact of shale gas production on energy systems and the chemical industry as a part of Professor Mallapragada’s Sustainable Energy Transitions Group. This past summer, he interned at Pfizer on the Materials Science team, where he programmed an automated tool for the statistical validation of particle size results and learned plenty about the pharmaceutical industry.

For his GLASS project, he is designing an economical, low-emissions process to upcycle polystyrene into benzoic acid, a common feedstock for the chemical industry, by means of a catalyzed photooxidation reaction. The goal is to reduce the current economic downside of incorporating polystyrene recycling into municipal waste management services.

He loves seeking out beautiful views through hikes in the Hudson Valley or exploring the unique neighborhoods of the City. He stays active however possible through the gym, pickleball, and even participated in Pfizer's recreational soccer league during his internship.