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He currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Forest Biomaterials (Wood & Paper Science) and Chemistry and as a faculty in the programs of Fiber & Polymer Science and Environmental Sciences. His laboratory, The Laboratory of Soft Materials & Green Chemistry, probes fundamental materials science topics focused on the green chemistry of renewable polymers. He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Florida for modeling photoinduced charge separation states of novel Rhenium (I)-based organometallic ensembles as a first order approximation of photosynthesis. He began his professional career as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology examining the mechanism of singlet oxygen’s chemistry with lignin & cellulose. A large part of his recent work has been focused on the chemical modification of cellulosics for biomedical applications.

 

Academic Background
• University of Florida, Gainesville, B.S. Chemistry, 1990
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Ph.D., Organic Chemistry

Additional Academic Activities / Honors
• CELL Division Organizer for ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Annual Spring Meeting Symposium Award (in conjunction with ENVR Division), 2017 –
• Organizer, Fund Raiser, and Committee Chair for ACS Cellulose & Renewable Materials KINGFA Young Investigators Award, 2016 –
• Bio-AQUA proposal selected top five (5) Green & Sustainable Challenge Competition (Elsevier) from field of > 500 entries
• ACS Cellulose & Renewable Materials (CELL) Fellow, 2016
• Elected to International Association of Engineers (IAENG), 2015
• Fulbright (U.S.A.) Professorship (Brazil), 2014 – 2016
• National Foreign Talent Professor, Jiangnan University (2014 – present)
• Distinguished Professor of Green Polymer Chemistry, Qilu University of Technology (2014 – present)
• Board Membership on Global Technology Access, Inc. (GTA, Inc., 2014 – present)
• Manuscript in Green Chemistry cited as “Hot Article” on the 06 May 2014 Green Chemistry blog (http://blogs.rsc.org/gc/)
• Made cover for December 2, 2013 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (please see: http://pubs.acs.org/action/showLargeCover?issue=390659656)
• Invited Panelist for News Media Coverage of “First International Symposium on Bacterial Cellulose” at ACS 245th National Meeting in New Orleans, LA (April 8th, 2013)
• Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Polymeric Materials and Polymeric Biomaterials, 2012 - present
• Member of the Editorial Board of the Cellulose Chemistry & Technology, 2010 - present
• CNR Awardee for 2012 Outstanding Global Engagement Award
• CHAIR of ACS Cellulose & Renewable Materials (CELL) Division, 2012 - present
• Elected CHAIR of ACS Cellulose & Renewable Materials (CELL) Division, 2010-2012
• Member of Editorial Board of Materials Sciences and Applications, www.scirp.org/journal/msa, 2011 - present
• Adjunct Professor of State Key Laboratory of Pulp & Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology (Guangzhou, China), 2009 – 2012
• Awarded status of permanent faculty member on the Faculty of Engineering, University of Amazonas (Manaus, Brazil), 2009
• Nominated as an advisory member to the Board of SHE, 2009
• Community of Diversity Environmentor (CNR) Recognition, 2008
• Selected as a Cambridge Fellow (2008)
• Shandong Institute of Light Industry (Jinan, China) Honorary Professor (2008-2010)
• South China University of Technology (Guangzhou, China) US Research Scholar Travel Fellowship (2007-2010)
• Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science (2007)
• “Faculty Research and Professional Development Fund 2007” (CNR, NCSU)
• Inaugural (2006) NCSU College of Natural Resources Community for Diversity Dean’s Office Award
•  “Faculty Research and Professional Development Fund 2005” (CNR, NCSU)
• “Faculty Research and Professional Development Fund 2004” (CNR, NCSU)
• 2000 TAPPI Local SE Section Recognition Award
• Nominated for Teacher of the Year, Georgia Institute of Technology (IPST), 1998 – 2002
• Georgia Institute of Technology “Class of 1969” Fellow, 1999
• NSF Jr. Faculty Travel Award, Barcelona, Spain: Photochemistry IUPAC, July 1998
• Rochester NSF Overseas Research/Teaching Award (Tokyo Metropolitan University), Fall 1997
• Merck Graduate Student Research Grant Recipient, 1994-95

 

Professional Experience

• RTI Group, LLC, Annapolis, MD, Paper and Wood Sciences Consultant, November 2017-present

• Distinguished Professor of Green Chemisty, 2014-present

•  Associate Professor, 2004-present

 

Professional Associations and Activities

• North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA), 2011-
• American Chemical Society (ACS) Cellulose & Renewable Materials Division Chair, 2012-
• American Chemical Society (ACS) Cellulose & Renewable Materials Division Chair-Elect, 2010-2012
• American Chemical Society (ACS) Cellulose & Renewable Materials Division Secretary, 2008-2010
• International Academy of Wood Science, 2007-
• American Chemical Society (ACS) Member, 1992-
• ACS Cellulose & Renewable Materials ACS Division Member, 1997-
• Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI), 1997-2005
• American Association of University Professors, 2001-2004
• Toastmasters Society (Techmasters/Georgia Tech), 1999-2004