Impact Stories

Last time we checked in with Elsy Milan, she was on her way to take part in the pre-COP26 summit in Italy in 2021. After completing her MS in chemical engineering at AUB in 2021, Elsy worked as an associate professional in Green Gas Supply and Use and the International Renewable Energy Agency in Germany. Today, and after being awarded the President Scholarship and the UK Emergency Education Fund for the Levant, Elsy is a PhD candidate at Imperial College London.

Growing up in Lebanon, a country rich with natural resources and political turmoil, Elsy took it upon herself to try and seek solutions. Being an instinctive problem-solver, Elsy decided to study chemistry and chemical engineering because she considered them to be the bridge that united all of the sciences that could help countries produce the energy they need for development. Her research today, which aims to limit our world’s extensive reliance on fossil fuels, focuses on developing a novel decision-support framework that would accelerate the adoption of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCUS) for hard to abate industries. CCUS is a process that involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from various sources, such as industrial and power plants, and utilizing or converting that captured CO2 into valuable products or materials or storing it in the subsurface rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. Elsy wants to build a foundation for an equitable energy transition that would benefit her home country and the world. She is also eager to empower youth and women who are interested in or working in STEM.

Since her graduation in 2022, Elsy has embarked on a transformative – and successful – journey, leaving a lasting impact wherever she goes. She was the first Lebanese female representative to Youth4Climate and was selected by UNDP Climate as one of five young leaders in the Arab world advocating for resolutions to the challenges presented by climate change. This program works with governments from the region to include youth in consultations on national climate pledges and to design specific policies that enable young people to lead climate action. In November 2023, Elsy was invited by President Emanuel Macron of France, to deliver the opening speech at the Paris Peace Forum 2023. In her opening speech, Elsy made a plea to work for peace in a world of conflict. She also issued a call for action to preserve the planet for future generations by focusing on the latest results from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (The photo above shows Elsy, 5th from the left, with President Macron and other dignitaries at the Paris Peace Forum 2023.)

Elsy’s journey to becoming a climate activist was greatly facilitated by the strong foundation and knowledge that an AUB education offers. “AUB will not grant you success on a silver platter. It will challenge you, transform you, and shape you into a trailblazing leader. It is a beacon of light from Beirut to the world,” she says. That education was made possible in part by the support that Elsy received from the 150 for 150 Endowed Scholarship, the Samia Ghobril Endowed Scholarship, and AUB’s Office of Financial Aid. “The highest and most noble purpose in life is to seek knowledge and give others the chance to do so. With generous financial aid, I was able to fulfill my childhood dream and study at AUB. It is important for donors to know that they are not only helping students get an education, they are giving them hope by changing their lives, forever.”