Blake Trusty

Blake Trusty is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Chemical Separations Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His research focuses on the development and scale-up of membrane-assisted and adsorption-based separation processes that advance clean energy, circular economy, and sustainable manufacturing objectives. He integrates molecular-level transport understanding with process engineering and technoeconomic analysis to accelerate the translation of laboratory discoveries into industrially relevant technologies.

Dr. Trusty’s work spans membrane design and modification, liquid–liquid and pervaporation separations, adsorption process modeling, and critical material recovery from mining and bio-derived sources. He has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed publications, patents, and funded research proposals in areas such as biofuel purification, rare-earth element separations, and advanced membrane platform development.

Before joining ORNL, Blake earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida, where he used pulsed-field gradient NMR to investigate molecular diffusion in membranes and mesoporous materials. His research bridges fundamental transport science with applied process innovation, supporting ORNL’s mission to deliver scalable solutions for sustainable chemical and energy systems.