I completed my Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering/chemistry at New Jersey Institute of Technology (Newark, NJ) in 2002, followed by a post-doctoral training on food science and polymer packaging at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ). My Ph.D. dissertation is entitled "Synthesis and enzymatic resolution of amino acid esters in "green" solvents ― ionic liquids". I received my B.S. degree in chemistry and Master's degree in chemical engineering both from Tianjin University (China).
I have been involved in a number of research projects related to biocatalysis, biomass, polymer chemistry, and thermodynamics. My major research interests include biocatalysis (enzymes and DNA-based hybrid catalysts) in ionic liquids, polyester synthesis, chemical and enzymatic preparation of biofuels (cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel), microwave-assisted reactions, and medicinal molecules with anti-cancer and anti-HIV properties. I am also interested in some computer-related projects, such as model computing, website and database designing, computer programming using Fortran, C/C++ and Java.
I started my academic career at Savannah State University (Savannah, GA), where I spent 13 years as an Assistant Professor first, and then as an Associate and Full Professor; I became the Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Forensic Science at SSU from 2013-2017. From 2017 to 2021, I was a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of University of Northern Colorado (Greeley, CO). From 2021-2022, I was Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Howard University (Washington, DC). Since 2022, I have been Professor and Head of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering (BBE) at University of Minnesota.