Professor Olivetti’s research focuses on improving the environmental and economic sustainability of materials in the context of rapid-expanding global demand. Her research addresses two major problems where solutions could yield significant environmental benefits:

1. Improving the sustainability of materials through the increased use of recycled and renewable materials, recycling-friendly material design, and intelligent waste disposition.

2. Understanding the implications of substitution, dematerialization and waste mining on materials markets. Her research spans three levels of materials production: operational-level, industrial network-level, and market-level strategies.