Tim Rappold, Ph.D.

Dr. Tim Rappold (RECS 2009) studied Physics at Vassar and then went on to earn his PhD in Earth & Environmental Engineering under Dr. Klaus Lackner at Columbia University. During his graduate work, he developed a method to safely dispose large quantities of sulfur (a waste byproduct of oil and gas production) and recover energy from the process. Dr. Rappold is fascinated with all the things that make our energy infrastructure hang together, and he developed and taught a course for gifted high schoolers on “Fossil Fuels and Global Change.” After Columbia, Dr. Rappold joined Kilimanjaro, where he designs experiments, works to align research strategy with process development, and strives to convert complex, messy problems into simple, tractable ones.