Stechel co-leads LightWorks®, a University-wide energy and sustainability initiative, and directs the Center for an Arizona Carbon-Neutral Economy efforts to build a low-carbon economy across Arizona and the Southwest. Stechel researches integrates materials discovery with reactor and systems design and techno-economic analysis to advance sustainable liquid hydrocarbons from CO₂, low-carbon hydrogen via advanced water splitting, renewable ammonia, atmospheric water harvesting, industrial heat, and thermochemical energy storage—technologies that underpin resilient, affordable, net-zero supply chains.