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Dr. Y-H Percival Zhang Named Winner of Engineering Designer AwardST JOSEPH, MICHIGAN—The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers has named Y.-H. Percival Zhang winner of the 2009 Sunkist Young Designer Award. The award was presented June 24, at the 2009 ASABE Annual International Meeting, in Reno, Nevada.
Zhang was selected for the honor in recognition of his outstanding engineering accomplishments in bio-refinery process design as a researcher and educator. As an assistant professor in the Biological Systems Engineering Department at Virginia Tech, he has greatly contributed to agricultural engineering through research involving biomass conversion, biorefinery, cellulase engineering, and synthetic biology. His research accomplishments have improved biorefinery process design through decreases in processing costs and capital investment, and in the increase of overall revenues through innovative process design, optimization, and integration.
Zhang, along with his Ph.D. advisor Professor Lee Lynd, a pioneer in biofuels, were the first scientists to demonstrate the technological feasibility of consolidated bioprocessing for producing the lowest-cost cellulosic ethanol. He invented a novel cellulose-and-organic-solvent lignocellulose fractionation (COSLIF) technology featuring modest reaction conditions. This technology minimizes energy and cellulase inputs while maximizing sugar yield, making it the most efficient method to date for releasing sugars from lignocellulosic materials. This new technology has been licensed to two companies for further COSLIF commercialization resulting in biofuel production that has the potential to benefit the worldwide economy, environment, and security.
Zhang has authored or coauthored more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He has provided leadership as an organizer or chair of five bioenergy-related symposiums or conferences. He is an editorial board member for Process Biochemistry and Biotechnology for Biofuels publications and has contributed as an ad hoc reviewer for 28 different journals and as an ad hoc international proposal reviewer.
Already in a young career, Zhang has earned numerous honors, including the DuPont Young Faculty award, Virginia Tech Outstanding New Assistant Professor of the College of Engineering honor, British Petroleum Young Scientist award, Air Force Young Investigator award, and Esquire magazine’s Best and Brightest in Science and Technology award. He has filed 12 international and U.S. patents or patent disclosures. Zhang is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemistry Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Microbiology, and the Society of Industrial Microbiology.
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers is an international educational and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to biological, agricultural, and food systems. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in St Joseph, Michigan, ASABE comprises nearly 10,000 members from more than 100 countries.
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