The Food, Energy, and Water Laboratory for Sustainability (FEWLS) laboratory at the University of Kansas conducts fundamental and applied research aimed at improving the sustainability of various chemical and biochemical processes. This seminar will cover two core areas of our research: (1) conversion of waste plastics using tunable media and (2) catalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). First, I will discuss our ongoing efforts to develop efficient catalytic processes to transform waste plastics, such as polyolefins, into valuable products using subcritical CO2 as a tunable reaction medium. Then, I will discuss the use of zeolites in the chemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into SAFs, with focus on a one-pot hydrodeoxygenation technology to transform biomass into liquid fuels. Lastly, the potential of fine-tuned hierarchical zeolites to facilitate carbon-carbon coupling reactions from biomass-derived molecules, an essential step to produce long-chain alkanes required to produce SAFs, will be discussed.