Catherine Peters has been elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for her work in environmental geochemistry with a focus on sustainable energy technologies.
Peters, the George J. Magee Professor of Geological Engineering, joins 52 individuals in the 2025 Class of Fellows. AGU, the largest Earth and space science association, bestows this honor to researchers who have made exceptional scientific contributions, a group that has included less than 0.1% of AGU members each year since the program’s inception in 1962.
Peters has made breakthrough contributions that have revealed new and unexpected ways that mineral reactions alter hydrodynamic processes. By observing complex cascades of geochemical reactions in porous and fractured media at scales down to the nanometer, her insights have changed researchers’ understanding of reactive transport — the interplay of chemical reactions and fluid flows.
Her work has shed light on previously unexplained fluid flow phenomena and has inspired new strategies for altering fluid flows using materials with different permeabilities. This technology is enabling advancements in sustainable energy technologies such as geological carbon sequestration, geothermal energy extraction and underground hydrogen storage.
Peters, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, earned a B.S.E. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, and a master’s and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. She joined the Princeton faculty in 1994 and served as chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering from 2017 to 2023.
Peters is a fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) and served as its president in 2002. In 2020 she was honored with Honorary Board Certification by Eminence in AAEESP and received a Distinguished Alumnus Award of CEE from Carnegie Mellon University. She has served as editor in chief of Environmental Engineering Science and has served on advisory panels for the U.S. Department of Energy, including the stakeholder group for the National Risk Assessment Program.
Founded in 1919 as an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Geophysical Union incorporated independently in 1972 as an organization of Earth and space scientists working to discover solutions to societal issues. Entering Fellows will be honored at the Union’s annual conference in New Orleans in December.
