SCD-iBIO to Honor Purdue’s Dr. George Tsao

The Society for the Commercial Development of Industrial Biotechnology (SCD-iBIO), an affiliate of the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA), will honor Purdue University Chemical Engineering Professor and Founder of the Laboratory for Renewable Resources Engineering (LORRE) Dr. George Tsao for his leadership and early contributions to 21st century industrial biotechnology.  


 
The recognition of Dr. Tsao will highlight an evening gala, “Honoring the Past, Acting in the Present & Inspiring the Future,” at the 2nd International Forum on Commercializing Global Green on Nov. 12 at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, PA. Keynote speaker for the evening will be Dr. Marcel Lubben, vice president of DSM’s Bio-based Chemicals & Materials business unit headquartered in Delft, The Netherlands.

Dr. Tsao founded LORRE in 1978 at a time of national need, when rising oil prices threatened to disrupt the economy, fuel inflation and upset transportation systems. Under his direction, LORRE achieved many significant developments, not the least of which was the recognition of renewable resources as a bridge to a sustainable energy future. 

 

“Driven by Professor Tsao’s leadership and vision for industrial biotechnology, LORRE was significantly ahead of its time, and helped to establish the field of renewable resources as we know it today,” said Dr. William Armiger, executive director of SCD-iBIO. “As a leader in biochemical engineering, Professor Tsao and his peers – D.I.C. Wang, Arthur Humphrey, Charles Cooney, Jay Bailey, Elmer Gaden, Harry Bungay and others – brought quantitative engineering principles to renewable resources technology, establishing practices that are the foundation of biochemical engineering and systems biology. We are pleased to recognize Dr. Tsao’ s early role in applying metabolic engineering to alter the genetic make-up of industrial microorganisms used today for producing bio-based chemicals,” Armiger said.