2026 WISER Distinguished Lectureship Series: Jennifer Holmgren

March 4, 2026
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Perlstein Hall, Room 131; 10 West 33rd Street, Chicago, IL, USA
Perlstein Hall, West 33rd Street, Chicago, IL, USA

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Program Series:
Technology and Engineering

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In today’s world, bold innovation is not just desirable, it’s essential for a sustainable future. Join Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, as she shares her journey transforming “impossible” ideas into global solutions for the circular carbon economy. This inspiring talk explores the intersection of perseverance, daring to dream big, and leveraging cutting-edge technology to rethink how we obtain, use, and dispose of carbon.

Holmgren will discuss how LanzaTech, with a vision that many called impossible, turned waste carbon into valuable products and scaled it globally. Through real-world examples, students will see how resilience and unconventional thinking are crucial for turning audacious ideas into reality. Learn what it really takes to challenge norms, forge new paths, and use science to reshape our relationship with carbon.

The future demands relentless innovators who never give up. Are you ready to be one of them?

Event Details

Parking Accommodations

Guest parking is available in Lot A4 near The McCormick Tribune Campus Center, located at 32nd and State streets (Lot Code ILTECHA4). You can only pay for parking via mobile pay (credit/debit card only).

Peg Murphy, murphym@illinoistech.edu, 708.268.1458 (murphym@illinoistech.edu) or

Yesenia Diaz, ydiaz2@illinoistech.edu, 312.567.3041

The lecture is a hybrid, in-person program, and it will be livestreamed via the Illinois Tech YouTube page.

  • Access the live program via YouTube
  • The question-and-answer section will take place online, and it can be accessed using the following link (the QR code to access the Q&A is also available below):
Menti QR code for 2026 WISER lecture
  • Students who need to sign in for credit will find the Google form at the following link.

 

Featured Guests

Jennifer Holmgren

Jennifer Holmgren is the chairman and CEO of LanzaTech. Under Holmgren’s guidance, LanzaTech is developing a variety of platform chemicals and fuels, including the world’s first alternative jet fuel derived from industrial waste gases. She is also the director and chair of the LanzaJet Board of Directors. Prior to LanzaTech, Holmgren was the founding VP and general manager of the renewable energy and chemicals business unit at UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company. While there, she was a key driver of their leadership in low-carbon aviation biofuels.

Holmgren has authored or co-authored 50 United States patents and more than 30 scientific publications and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). In 2023 she was named to the Time Magazine Climate 100 list of Most Influential Leaders. Holmgren also sits on the Board of Directors of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), the Advisory Council for the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University, the National Academies’ Board on Energy and Environmental Systems (BEES), the Advisory Council for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Halliburton Labs Advisory Board, the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS International Advisory Council, and the Founder Advisory for The Engine, a venture capital fund built by MIT that invests in early-stage science and engineering companies.

Holmgren holds a B.S. degree from Harvey Mudd College, a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and an honorary doctorate from the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).