The mineral olivine may not appear to be much more than a pretty green rock, but its uses extend far beyond gems and jewelry.
Northeastern University graduate student Jenna Woods, whose undergraduate co-op took her to Milan to study the mineral, said olivine could become an important part of the global solution to climate change.
The mineral plays a crucial role in the carbon cycle, which regulates the Earth’s temperature, Woods said. When the rock comes in contact with carbon dioxide and water in the atmosphere, it undergoes a chemical process that helps remove carbon from the atmosphere. For our carbon-rich planet and in the context of excess carbon dioxide emissions, having an abundance of olivine could be a significant advantage for carbon removal.
But that process takes millennia. So Woods is working to accelerate it, an effort made possible by her co-op.
04/02/26 – BOSTON MA. – Northeastern University graduate student Jenna Woods, poses for photos inside the EXP building on April 2, 2026. Woods undergraduate co-op took her to Milan to study the mineral olivine. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
04/02/26 – BOSTON MA. – Northeastern University graduate student Jenna Woods, poses for photos inside the EXP building on April 2, 2026. Woods undergraduate co-op took her to Milan to study the mineral olivine. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Northeastern University graduate student Jenna Woods worked with the mineral olivine during an undergraduate co-op in Milan. Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Woods said that when she first applied to be a part of the co-op program, she really wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her degree in environmental studies and international affairs. She had thought about working in global environmental governance, but wasn’t finding co-op opportunities in that field that piqued her interest.
But then she heard about carbon capture technology, which works to trap carbon emissions from industrial sources and power plants to prevent the gas from going back into the atmosphere. “I became really interested with the fact that there are a lot of technically viable climate solutions that aren’t necessarily moving at the same pace that their science is,” she said. In other words, “The science ends up being really, really viable,” Woods explained, but there’s a gap between taking that technology and actually deploying it.
During her co-op, which was sponsored by Marcel Di Vece, an associate professor in the University of Milan Physics Department, Woods worked on supporting his research on olivines and other mineral sciences. That included reaching out to investors and handling finances.
Northeastern University graduate student Jenna Woods was named CEO of a company called AngelRock BV. Courtesy photo
Her work with Di Vece didn’t end with finishing her co-op in 2024, or even with graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 2025. Last November, Di Vece founded a company called AngelRock BV, and hired Woods as the CEO. The company was launched with the help of a University of Milan accelerator grant and will continue to research the effects of olivine on the environment and how to make its use widely viable.
“AngelRock BV is currently entering a research and development phase to make our product market-ready, after which the potential could be enormous,” Di Vece said in an email to Northeastern Global News. “Sad to say, climate change is not going away, and we expect governments to need us in the near future.”
At just 21, Woods is now working full-time as the CEO of AngelRock, while also studying Environmental Science and Public Policy as a graduate student at Northeastern University. Her ultimate goal is to get a Ph.D. in the field of environmental science, and she hopes to continue working with AngelRock during the entire process.
The choice to partner with Woods full-time and offer her the CEO role at AngelRock was an easy one, according to Di Vece.
“I immediately realized I needed someone to lead the commercial and organizational part of such an enterprise. I was very impressed by Jenna’s work … and her commitment and understanding of mitigating climate change by capturing CO2,” Di Vece said. “Sometimes the stars align: The development of the technology came at the right moment, together with Jenna, who brought us closer to the market. Jenna, I, and hopefully soon more team members are now here to solve climate change without disruption to society.”
As for Woods, “I love AngelRock,” she said. “It’s really shown me how important it is to wake up knowing that you’re doing something that you feel really attached to and is really important. I would love to continue doing what I’m doing,” Woods said.