Yamil Colón, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been selected for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s New Voices program, an initiative that brings emerging leaders into NASEM’s advisory work. Selected through a merit-based, open competition, Colón is one of just 20 early- and mid-career scientists, engineers and medical professionals nationwide chosen for the 2026-28 cohort.
Operating under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, the National Academies are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering and medicine.
NASEM’s New Voices program was created to incorporate emerging experts into the National Academies’ efforts to address pressing global challenges. During his two-year term, which began Jan. 30, Colón will contribute to the Academies’ policy-relevant studies and convenings, develop interdisciplinary projects and collaborate with a national and international network of rising STEM leaders shaping the future of science and engineering.
“I’m honored to be selected for the New Voices program,” said Colón. “This opportunity allows researchers to help inform decisions on critical issues, and I hope to use my expertise in computational modeling and artificial intelligence to address issues in energy and sustainability. I also hope to promote global collaborations in science, as I believe these are necessary to address some of humanity’s most pressing issues.”
Colón’s lab works at the intersection of the molecular sciences and artificial intelligence, focusing on the study, discovery and design of porous materials for targeted applications. Because fluids confined within microscopic pores exhibit complex, dynamic interactions, these materials offer opportunities to address challenges in water, energy and environmental sustainability. By developing computational and data-driven tools to predict how gases and liquids move, are stored and interact within these pores, his work accelerates the discovery of materials for applications including water harvesting and humidity control, efficient gas storage and separation, and ion transport.
His lab also develops efficient algorithms to understand how material structure influences performance, allowing researchers to quickly identify the most promising materials for real-world use without relying on costly calculations.
In 2022, Colón received a National Science Foundation CAREER award to develop a universal model that accurately predicts gas adsorption. The project has resulted in multiple publications showcasing how machine learning and artificial intelligence can be combined with molecular modeling of adsorption in porous materials. The project has also resulted in curricula around machine learning and artificial intelligence for middle and elementary schools.
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 2009, Colón spent a year at the University of Santiago de Compostela doing research with a Fulbright scholarship. He completed his doctorate at Northwestern University in 2015 and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory. Colón joined the Notre Dame faculty in 2018.
—College of Engineering