Klaus Lackner is a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 and co-founder of Global Research Technologies in Tucson, AZ. Lackner pioneered the concept of carbon dioxide air capture

Carbon dioxide air capture

Carbon dioxide removal methods refers to a number of technologies which reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Among such technologies are bio-energy with carbon capture and storage, biochar, direct air capture, ocean fertilization and enhanced weathering.CDR is a different...

 as a means for climate change mitigation, i.e. abating emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Trained as a theoretical physicist

Theoretical physics

Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...

, he has made a number of contributions to the field of Carbon Capture and Storage

Carbon capture and storage

Carbon capture and storage , alternatively referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is a technology to prevent large quantities of from being released into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuel in power generation and other industries. It is often regarded as a means of mitigating...

 since 1995, including early work on the sequestration of carbon dioxide in silicate minerals and zero emission

Zero emission

Zero emission refers to an engine, motor, or other energy source, that emits no waste products that pollutes the environment or disrupts the climate.-Zero emission engines:...

 power plant design. His current work includes the use of tracers in geological carbon storage, power plant modeling, carbon capture membranes for use at high temperatures, gravitational carbon storage, advanced fossil fuel technologies, scaling and automation, among others. Lackner is currently the director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at the Earth Institute

The Earth Institute

The Earth Institute was established at Columbia University in 1995. The research institute's stated mission is to address complex issues facing the planet and its inhabitants, with particular focus on sustainable development and the needs of the world's poor...

.

He is also known for a self-replicating machine scheme, joint work with Christopher Wendt .

Professor Lackner is also teaching Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CCS) Technologies
at RES - The School for Renewable Energy Science

RES - The School for Renewable Energy Science

RES - The School for Renewable Energy Science is a private, non-profit, international graduate school located in the city of Akureyri in northern Iceland and shares its facilities with the University of Akureyri....

in Iceland.