![](\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2020\/06\/lauren-beckingham-lab-wide.jpg\")
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I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Capturing carbon is one of engineering\u2019s grand challenges.<\/p>\n In Lauren Beckingham\u2019s mind, it might just be the grandest.<\/p>\n \u201cCO2 is a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to global warming,\u201d said Beckingham, assistant professor of civil engineering. \u201cAnd since atmospheric emissions of CO2 continue to increase, means of reducing those emissions is really critical.\u201d<\/p>\n In other words, if we can\u2019t find a practical way to capture carbon, engineering\u2019s other grand challenges become moot.<\/p>\n Enter Beckingham, the principal investigator for an interdisciplinary team of researchers that have positioned Auburn University as a leader in carbon dioxide utilization and storage research.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are looking at a myriad of ways that CO2 can be utilized for purposes such as producing green fuels, chemicals and materials or enhancing energy production,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Beckingham recently received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early CAREER Development award for her work in environmental engineering.<\/p>\n Her childhood friends would be proud.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was really little, I started a Save The Earth club for the neighborhood kids,\u201d the Princeton graduate said, smiling. \u201cWhen I went to college, the environmental engineering classes were the most challenging, but also really inspirational. I could do something using science and math that would have a positive change not only for my life, but for other people.\u201d<\/p>\n