Bio
Dr. Yunqiao (Joseph) Pu is a Sr. R&D Staff in the Biomaterials and Biomass Characterization group in Biosciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Prior to joining ORNL in 2014, he was a Senior Research Scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology. His research has been involved with plant cell wall structure/biosynthesis, wood/lignin chemistry, cellulose/ hemicellulose chemistry and structures, forest biorefinery, biofuels, renewable biopolymers for biomaterials and biocomposites, nanocellulosics, fiber engineering, and pulping/paper engineering. His most recent research has been focusing on the biomass recalcitrance and lignin valorization in the utilization of biomass for biofuels, biopolymers and bioproducts. He has expertise in solution- and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) characterization of plants cell wall polymers, lipid membranes, and metal-protein bindings, and is managing two Bruker 400 MHz and 500 MHz NMR spectrometers, along with extensive skills in HPLC, GPC, GC, GC-MS, and FTIR/NIR analysis of polymers and natural products. He has authored/co-authored over 180 journal articles and book chapters.