Camille Violet

Degree: Ph.D. from Yale University
Research: Critical Materials Separations 
Joined LLNL: September 2025

Research at LLNL: Camille’s research focuses on developing design principles for high-precision membranes that can separate critical materials like transition metals and rare earth elements from aqueous streams. Inspired by the chemical structures of biological ion channels, Camille uses nanoporous crystals like metal-organic and covalent-organic frameworks as customizable platforms to study mechanistic relationships between pore chemistry and selective ion transport. Her research at LLNL involves systematic investigations of rare earth element transport across single-crystal platforms in close collaboration with computational modeling groups. The overall goal is to produce a nanoporous material capable of continuous lanthanide ion separation and pave the way for rationally designed ion-selective membranes.

Bio: Camille Violet is a Lawrence Fellow in the Materials Science Division of the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate. Prior to joining LLNL, she completed a Ph.D. in Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University with a focus on aqueous metal separations for resource recovery. She earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.A. in International Studies at Oregon State University in 2016 and studied critical languages as a U.S. Dept. of State Critical Language in Bangladesh and a U.S. NSEP Boren Scholar in Tanzania. Between undergraduate and graduate studies, Camille worked for two years as a chemical engineer synthesizing quantum dot nanomaterials and supporting the growth of a manufacturing line at a start-up company in Portland, Oregon.