Jiying Zhu | Environmental Chemistry | Best Researcher Award

Posted on by Analytical Chemistry

Ms. Jiying Zhu | Environmental Chemistry | Best Researcher Award

Shandong University of Technology, China

👨‍🎓Profiles

🎓 Early Academic Pursuits

Ms. Jiying Zhu has established a strong academic foundation in agricultural and food engineering, beginning her distinguished career with a commitment to solving global challenges related to organic waste conversion. Her academic journey led her to international collaboration early on, particularly through her experiences at The Ohio State University-OARDC, where she served as a Visiting Scholar from 2008 to 2009, and later as a Postdoctoral Researcher from 2012 to 2013. These international experiences significantly broadened her research vision and expertise in biological engineering.

🧑‍🏫 Professional Endeavors

Ms. Zhu has been an integral part of the School of Agricultural and Food Engineering at Shandong University of Technology, China, for over a decade. She served as an Associate Professor from 2009 to 2018, and due to her outstanding contributions in research and education, she was promoted to Professor in January 2019. Throughout her tenure, she has been at the forefront of promoting sustainable agricultural engineering practices, mentoring students, and leading impactful research initiatives.

🔬 Contributions and Research Focus

Ms. Zhu’s research primarily focuses on the conversion of organic wastes into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) through anaerobic mixed-culture fermentation. She investigates how the organic components of substrates and various fermentation conditions influence the yield and distribution of VFAs. Her studies also delve deeply into the metabolic pathways governing the chain elongation of small molecular intermediates, aiming to overcome bottlenecks and limiting factors. Her overarching goal is to develop carbon source flow regulation strategies that enhance the accumulation of specific target products, contributing to more efficient and sustainable waste management and bioresource utilization.

🌎 Impact and Influence

Ms. Zhu’s pioneering work addresses a critical global need — the sustainable transformation of organic waste into valuable biochemical products. By advancing knowledge on metabolic regulation during fermentation processes, she supports the development of circular bioeconomy models that can significantly reduce environmental pollution and enhance resource recovery. Her findings have practical implications for industries focusing on renewable bioenergy, waste valorization, and environmental sustainability.

📚 Academic Citations

Given the technical relevance and environmental urgency of her research, Ms. Zhu’s work has steadily gained recognition in the academic community. Her research outputs contribute significantly to fields such as biochemical engineering, environmental biotechnology, and waste-to-energy systems, building a strong citation record that continues to expand as sustainable waste conversion grows in importance globally.

🛠️ Technical Skills

Ms. Zhu’s technical expertise includes anaerobic fermentation technology, organic waste characterization, metabolic pathway analysis, volatile fatty acid production optimization, and process regulation for targeted bioproduct accumulation. Her skill set positions her uniquely at the intersection of biological engineering, sustainable waste management, and process optimization.

👩‍🏫 Teaching Experience

Alongside her research activities, Ms. Zhu has been deeply committed to academic mentorship and education. She has guided undergraduate and postgraduate students at Shandong University of Technology, fostering a research culture that emphasizes innovation, problem-solving, and sustainability. Her teaching philosophy integrates hands-on experimentation with theoretical modeling, preparing students to tackle real-world challenges in agricultural and food engineering.

🌟 Legacy and Future Contributions Highlight

Ms. Zhu’s legacy will be defined by her transformative contributions to the sustainable bioconversion of organic wastes. Looking ahead, she is poised to explore advanced metabolic engineering strategies and precision fermentation technologies to further optimize resource recovery from waste streams. Her continued research and mentorship efforts are set to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists dedicated to environmental sustainability and renewable resource development.

📖Notable Publications

Hexanoic Acid Production and Microbial Community in Anaerobic Fermentation: Effects of Inorganic Carbon Addition
Authors: Xiaofeng Ji, Zhengang Chen, Yingmeng Shen, Longlong Liu, Ranran Chen, Jiying Zhu*
Journal: Bioresource Technology
Year: 2024 | Volume 403: 130881

Regulation of Hydraulic Retention Time on Caproic Acid Production via Two-Phase Anaerobic Fermentation of Chinese Cabbage Waste with Autopoietic Electron Donors
Authors: Ranran Chen, Xiaofeng Ji, Zhengang Chen, Liu Huang, Jiying Zhu*
Journal: Journal of Biotechnology
Year: 2024 | Volume 381: 1-10

Effects of Yeast Inoculation Methods on Caproic Acid Production and Microbial Community During Anaerobic Fermentation of Chinese Cabbage Waste
Authors: Ranran Chen, Xiaonan Zhou, Liu Huang, Xiaofeng Ji, Zhengang Chen, Jiying Zhu*
Journal: Journal of Environmental Management
Year: 2024 | Volume 356: 120632

Acidogenic Fermentation of Potato Peel Waste for Volatile Fatty Acids Production: Effect of Initial Organic Load
Authors: Lu Yu, Ranran Chen, Liu Huang, Xiangyou Wang, Santao Chou, Jiying Zhu*
Journal: Journal of Biotechnology
Year: 2023 | Volume 374: 114-121

Effect of pH on Volatile Fatty Acid Production and the Microbial Community During Anaerobic Digestion of Chinese Cabbage Waste
Authors: Xiaonan Zhou, Yu Lu, Liu Huang, Qi Zhang, Jiying Zhu*
Journal: Bioresource Technology
Year: 2021 | Volume 336: 125338

Ruijuan Qu | Environmental Chemistry | Best Researcher Award

Posted on by Analytical Chemistry

Dr. Ruijuan Qu | Environmental Chemistry | Best Researcher Award

Nanjing University, China

👨‍🎓Profiles

👩‍🏫 Early Academic Pursuits

Ruijuan Qu completed her PhD from Nanjing University, where she subsequently embarked on her professional career. She started her academic journey as an assistant researcher and progressed to associate researcher. Her continued academic growth led to her appointment as an Associate Professor at the School of Environment, Nanjing University. Her foundational academic pursuits focused on environmental sciences, particularly on the transformation mechanisms of organic pollutants and the development of efficient degradation technologies.

💼 Professional Endeavors

Her professional career has been largely centered around environmental chemistry, with a particular focus on pollution degradation and chemical processes in environmental systems. Her research spans various aspects of environmental transformation, including the fate of organic pollutants, chemical oxidation processes, and the application of computational chemistry. She has made significant contributions to the understanding of complex environmental processes, particularly in the treatment of organic pollutants using advanced oxidation processes. She collaborates internationally, notably with Prof. Virender K. Sharma from Texas A&M University, on Ferrate oxidation treatments of organic pollutants.

🔬 Contributions and Research Focus

She has been instrumental in developing innovative methods and models to study the transformation of organic pollutants. She established a novel "non-target mass spectrometry – preparative separation-characterization - simplified transition state calculation" method for identifying intermediate products in pollutant degradation. Furthermore, she investigated the influence of suspended particles and co-existing components on the heterogeneous photodegradation of persistent organic pollutants in river systems. Her work has led to a deeper understanding of the polymerization processes in chemical oxidation of phenols, and she proposed strategies to regulate this process for low-carbon, efficient oxidation treatments.

🌍 Impact and Influence

Her research has had significant impact in the field of environmental chemistry, particularly in understanding the environmental fate and transformation of organic pollutants. Her innovative methods have been applied to address key challenges in environmental pollution, particularly in water and wastewater treatment. As a recognized leader in the field, Her work has contributed to advancing green chemistry and pollution control technologies. She was named to Stanford University's 2023 World's Top 2% Scientists List, highlighting her significant contributions and the wide recognition her research has gained in the global scientific community.

📚 Academic Cites

Her work has been cited extensively, with a citation index of 6036 times and an H-index of 43 according to Web of Science. This reflects the widespread influence and relevance of her research in the environmental chemistry domain. Her 159 articles published in SCI-indexed journals underscore her prolific contributions to the academic community, advancing the understanding of chemical processes and pollutant management.

🛠️ Technical Skills

Ruijuan Qu possesses advanced technical expertise in environmental chemistry, particularly in the areas of mass spectrometry, computational chemistry, and environmental analytical techniques. Her work in environmental transformation analysis, pollutant degradation technologies, and process optimization highlights her technical proficiency. She also possesses deep knowledge of chemical oxidation processes and their applications in environmental remediation, making her a leader in this niche field of research.

👩‍🏫 Teaching Experience

As an Associate Professor at Nanjing University, She has contributed significantly to educating the next generation of environmental scientists. She teaches courses in environmental chemistry, pollutant treatment technologies, and environmental computational chemistry. Her teaching approach integrates cutting-edge research with practical applications, ensuring that her students are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to address current and future environmental challenges.

🏆 Legacy and Future Contributions

Her legacy is grounded in her pioneering work in environmental chemistry and pollution degradation. Through her innovative research, she has not only advanced scientific understanding but has also contributed to the development of green technologies for environmental protection. Her future contributions are poised to further shape the field, particularly in the development of more efficient, sustainable pollution control methods and the application of computational chemistry in environmental research.

🔮 Future Contributions

She continues to push the boundaries of environmental science with ongoing research focused on improving chemical oxidation methods, advancing non-target mass spectrometry for pollutant detection, and developing low-carbon technologies for water and wastewater treatment. Her future work aims to bridge the gap between fundamental environmental chemistry and practical, scalable solutions to global pollution challenges, enhancing both environmental sustainability and human health.

📖Notable Publications