Women in Science and Engineering at Yale (2020 Edition)

Barbara Reck, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist, School of the Environment

Barbara Reck’s research focuses on the sustainability of material use in society, which informs environmental and resource policy as well as circular economy discussions. Rooted in detailed material lifecycles, she studies metal recycling and its energy implications, developing recycling indicators as well as scenarios on the future supply and demand of major metals and assessing metal criticality. More recent studies extend these approaches to plastics and fibers such as paper and wood.

This 2005 nickel cycle for China illustrates nickel’s main life stages from mining to waste management, its trade flows and yield losses, and the central role of scrap recycling in a circular economy. Photo credit: Barbara Reck