James C. Liao (Chinese: 廖俊智) is a Taiwanese-American chemist. He is the Parsons Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles,[1][2] and is the co-founder and lead scientific advisor of Easel Biotechnologies, LLC.[3]
James C. Liao | |
|---|---|
| 廖俊智 | |
 Official portrait, 2016 | |
| 9th President of the Academia Sinica | |
| Assumed office 21 June 2016 | |
| Appointed by | Tsai Ing-wen |
| Vice President | Wang Fan-sen Andrew H. J. Wang Wang Yu Chin-Shing Huang Mei-Yin Chou Fu-Tong Liu Tang K. Tang |
| Preceded by | Wang Fan-sen (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1958 (age 65–66) |
| Alma mater | National Taiwan University (BS) University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD) |
| Spouse | Fu Chen |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemical engineering |
| Institutions | Eastman Kodak Texas A&M University University of California, Los Angeles Academia Sinica |
He is best known for his work in metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and bioenergy. Liao has been recognized for the biosynthesis and production of higher alcohols such as isobutanol from sugars, cellulose, waste protein, or carbon dioxide.
He was named the president of Academia Sinica, Taiwan, in June 2016.[4]
Education and training
editLiao holds both Taiwanese and American citizenship.[5] After receiving his bachelor's degree from National Taiwan University in 1980, Liao earned his Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1987 under the guidance of Edwin N. Lightfoot, co-author of Transport Phenomena. He worked as a research scientist for Eastman Kodak from 1987 to 1989. In 1990, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University as an assistant professor and three years later he became an associate professor. In 1997, Liao became a professor for the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles.
Research
editLiao's research[6] interests include biological synthesis of fuels and chemicals, carbon and nitrogen assimilation, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, transcriptional and metabolic networks analysis, fatty acid metabolism.
Protein based biofuels
editLiao and his team are researching protein based biofuels which use proteins, rather than fats or carbohydrates, as a significant raw material for biorefining and biofuel production. The benefit of using protein is that the protein metabolism is much faster than fatty acid metabolism such as algae biofuels, which leads to higher production.[7]
Electrofuels
editLiao's lab recently participated in the US Department of Energy's Electrofuels program. They proposed converting solar energy into liquid fuels such as isobutanol.[8] A new bioreactor could store electricity as liquid fuel with the help of a genetically engineered microbes and carbon dioxide. The isobutanol produced would have an energy density close to gasoline.[9]
Non-oxidative glycolysis
editLiao has also worked on the creation of a non-oxidative glycolysis pathway.[10] Natural metabolic pathways degrade sugars in an oxidative way that loses 1/3 of the carbon to CO2 in fermentation. The Liao laboratory has developed a pathway, called Non-oxidative glycolysis (NOG), that allows 100% carbon conservation in various fermentation processes.
Awards and honors
edit- Samson-Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation in Alternative Energy and Smart Mobility for Transportation, Israel, 2020
- Elected to The World Academy of Sciences 2019[11]
- Elected to National Academy of Sciences 2015[12]
- Elected Academician of Academia Sinica
- Industrial Application of Science from National Academy of Sciences 2014[13]
- Elected to National Academy of Engineering 2013[14]
- ENI award for Renewable Energy 2013[15][16]
- White House Champion of Change in Renewable Energy, 2012[17]
- Presidential Green Chemistry Award from EPA 2010[18]
- James E. Bailey Award, Society for Biological Engineering, 2009[19]
- Alpha Chi Sigma Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2009[20]
- Marvin J. Johnson Award, Biochemical Technology Division, American Chemical Society, 2009[21][22]
- Charles Thom Award, Society for Industrial Microbiology, 2008[23]
- Merck Award for Metabolic Engineering, 2006[24]
- FPBE Division Award of American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2006[25]
- Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, 2002[26]
- National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, 1992[27]
Personal
editLiao is originally from Taiwan. He is married to Kelly Liao and has two daughters, Carol and Clara Liao.
References
edit- ^ "James C. Liao — UCLA Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering". Archived from the original on 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ^ "James C. Liao, Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology Laboratory".
- ^ "About | Easel Biotechnologies, LLC".
- ^ Chung, Jake (4 June 2016). "Liao named Academia Sinica head". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ^ Tsao, Edward; Wu, Lilian (7 June 2016). "New Academia Sinica head ready to deal with problems". Central News Agency. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ^ "James C. Liao". Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
- ^ "Newsroom".
- ^ Li, H.; Opgenorth, P. H.; Wernick, D. G.; Rogers, S.; Wu, T.-Y.; Higashide, W.; Malati, P.; Huo, Y.-X.; Cho, K. M.; Liao, J. C. (2012). "Integrated Electromicrobial Conversion of CO2 to Higher Alcohols". Science. 335 (6076): 1596. Bibcode:2012Sci...335.1596L. doi:10.1126/science.1217643. PMID 22461604. S2CID 24328552.2 to Higher Alcohols&rft.volume=335&rft.issue=6076&rft.pages=1596&rft.date=2012&rft_id=info:doi/10.1126/science.1217643&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:24328552#id-name=S2CID&rft_id=info:pmid/22461604&rft_id=info:bibcode/2012Sci...335.1596L&rft.aulast=Li&rft.aufirst=H.&rft.au=Opgenorth, P. H.&rft.au=Wernick, D. G.&rft.au=Rogers, S.&rft.au=Wu, T.-Y.&rft.au=Higashide, W.&rft.au=Malati, P.&rft.au=Huo, Y.-X.&rft.au=Cho, K. M.&rft.au=Liao, J. C.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:James C. Liao" class="Z3988">
- ^ "Final Report | Second-Generation Isobutanol Producing Biocatalyst | Research Project Database | Grantee Research Project | ORD | US EPA".
- ^ Bogorad, Igor W.; Lin, Tzu-Shyang; Liao, James C. (2013). "Synthetic non-oxidative glycolysis enables complete carbon conservation". Nature. 502 (7473): 693–697. Bibcode:2013Natur.502..693B. doi:10.1038/nature12575. PMID 24077099. S2CID 4465336.
- ^ Lin, Chia-nan (18 December 2019). "World science academy elects three Taiwanese". Taipei Times. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ "James Liao".
- ^ "James C Liao receives NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science — UCLA Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering". Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ^ "Professor James C. Liao".
- ^ "Liao Wins ENI Award for Renewable Energy Research — UCLA Engineering". Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ^ "Eni: Impresa dell'energia". 2017-01-12. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ^ www.whitehouse.gov
- ^ "UCLA's James Liao receives Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from EPA — UCLA Engineering". Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ^ "James E. Bailey Award". 2012-06-07.
- ^ "Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research". 2012-03-28.
- ^ "BIOT Awards". Archived from the original on 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ^ "Professor James Liao receives 2009 Marvin J. Johnson Award — UCLA Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering". Archived from the original on 2010-07-11. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ^ http://www.simbhq.org/docs/PastAwardees2013.pdf[permanent dead link] [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Professor James Liao receives Merck Award — UCLA Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering". Archived from the original on 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
- ^ "Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Award in Chemical Engineering". 2012-03-28.
- ^ "James C. Liao, Ph.D. COF-0579 - AIMBE".
- ^ "James Liao - KNCV". Archived from the original on 2014-11-27. Retrieved 2014-09-23.