Dr. Barbara Reck

Biography

Barbara Reck is a Senior Research Scientist at Yale School of the Environment and Director of Material Systems at Bauhaus Earth. She holds a doctorate in Environmental Engineering from TU Berlin, Germany and has a Master's degree from the University of Applied Sciences, Bingen. Prior to joining Yale, she served as Manager of Environmental Affairs at Lufthansa German Airlines. Barbara's research focuses on material cycles, including degree of circularity, recycling barriers, and the implications of embodied carbon. Her work informs environmental resource policy and circular economy assessments, utilizing a systems approach rooted in detailed material flow studies for metals. She has developed internationally recognized, harmonized metal recycling indicators and has analyzed metal recycling rates to identify barriers and corresponding energy implications along with criticality assessments and scenarios for future supply and demand for key technology metals. Recent research extends to plastics and building materials, examining the potential of substituting carbon-intensive conventional building materials with low-carbon, bio-based alternatives.

Research Interests