Joshua S. Yuan, chair of energy, environmental and chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, was installed as the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Professor Oct. 17.
Yuan is principal investigator for the Carbon Utilization Redesign for Biomanufacturing-Empowered Decarbonization Engineering Research Center, which is funded by a five-year $26 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
Yuan’s research focuses on four major areas, including renewable biomaterials; carbon capture and utilization; integrated biorefining; and systems and synthetic biology. He has pioneered new chemical fractionation and manufacturing technologies along with feedstock design to process lignin into a variety of products. In addition, his team integrated artificial intelligence and synthetic biology to develop algae cultivation technologies.
Stanley and Lucy Lopata were significant benefactors of WashU for much of their lives. They established the professorship in the engineering school in 1980.
Alumnus Stanley Lopata earned a bachelor’s degree in 1935 and founded Carboline Co. in 1946, which grew into a multimillion-dollar business. Lucy Lopata helped found the Miriam School and Learning Center and volunteered with countless organizations. The Lopatas’ generosity and leadership is in evidence across the university, from endowed scholarships to named spaces, professorships and the annual Lopata Basketball Classic.
Read more on the McKelvey School of Engineering website.
