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Washington State University

Shulin Chen named National Academy of Inventors senior member

February, 2023 | WSU Insider

Photo of Shulin ChenBiological Systems Engineering professor Shulin Chen has been honored as a  senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. He will be inducted formally at the Academy’s annual meeting in June in Washington, D.C.

Chen has produced biochemicals from organic waste using microbial “cell factories,” yeasts that synthesize target biochemicals using metabolic pathways. His team also developed a method for extracting high-value products from potato peels, a waste by-product of potato processing. His method turns phytochemical and nutrient-rich waste into a revenue stream. Chen holds ten U.S. patents for his innovations.

Chen’s research focuses on making industrial processes more sustainable. His projects include development of bioconversion processes and systems for the production of biofuel, bioenergy, and bioproducts. Using anaerobic digestion systems, his research team has invented a process to convert manure and other dairy-industry waste to bioenergy which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. His team’s systems also recover nutrients from wastewater, alleviating concerns about surface and groundwater

Dr. Shulin Chen Receives Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award

 

Dr. Shulin ChenWSU Showcase  |  March 25, 2022

Shulin Chen’s technological innovations have made industrial processes more sustainable. Chen develops bioconversion processes and systems for the production of biofuel, bioenergy, and bioproducts. Using anaerobic digestion systems, his research team invented a process to convert manure and other dairy-industry waste to bioenergy. The systems reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They also recover nutrients from wastewater, alleviating concerns about surface and groundwater pollution. Six anaerobic digestion systems are now functioning throughout Washington.

WSU established the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award in 2018. Dr. Chen is the 2022 recipient of the award. [continue reading]

Source: WSU Showcase Award Recipients, 2022

Research to be presented at 2015 AIChE Annual Meeting

Research work by graduate student, Mohammadali Azadfar, under his advisor, Dr. Shulin Chen, has been accepted as one of the top seven topics of lignin-based materials for an oral presentation at prestige AIChE national conference, November 813, 2015 in Salt Lake city.

Research Title: “Investigation of Nanostructural Characteristics of Lignin-ABA Block Copolymer Aggregates Leading to Use of Micelles As Nanoreactors for Lignin Conversion

Studying Termites to Achieve Better Biofuel

March 2014 | WSU News, Rock Doc

A different way of producing biofuels is to use crop residues and woody materials as the source for the fuel. Those materials are full of cellulose and a molecule called lignin. The lignin is bonded to the cellulose within each plant cell.

Professor Shulin Chen of Washington State University is one scientist studying what termites do with an eye toward adopting similar processes to make biofuels from crop residues and woody materials. read full article