Energy Systems Researcher Breunig Reflects on Career & Collaboration

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) researcher Hanna Breunig shared her personal career reflections in a recent ACS Energy Letters series focused on energy science field leaders who published seminal work in 2024. 

Breunig recalled a lecture delivered by the engineer and water systems expert James Bisogni at Cornell University when she was an undergraduate student, which helped her understand that energy systems engineering could directly improve our infrastructure and the built environment. 

Since then, she has worked closely with experimentalists to develop next-generation solutions in energy. Her current work at LBNL applies systems analysis to guide the screening and development of novel materials for stronger long-term energy systems. In 2024, she co-authored an ACS Energy Letters publication exploring the potential of a new class of porous materials called metal-organic frameworks. 

In her reflection, Breunig shares her advice for other mid-career energy professionals, “to set an example for those around you by never letting the urgency of the world’s situation rush your science and find your science buddies, a trick Drs. Yanai and Lercher note in their article, ‘It takes two to think.’”