The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
ANNUAL REPORTING FORM
 
X. Ye, Assistant Professor
Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science
Annual Performance Period: January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006


A. SUMMARY AND IMPACTS.

1. Summary. Provide an overall summary (500 words or less) of your accomplishments during the reporting period.

Significant progress has been achieved in transforming a Food Engineering lab into a Biorefinery lab. Four new research projects were funded in addition to existing two.

Published 3 peer-reviewed papers, each in Transactions of the ASABE, Bioresource Technology, and Journal of Food Science, respectively.
Published one proceeding at annual International Convention of the Forest Products Society.
Published and presented one research paper at annual ASABE international conference.

Taught Bioprocess Engineering (BsE 431, 3 cr., 10 students) and Mass and Energy in Biosystems (BsE 221, 3 cr., 7 students); developed new teaching modules on “Bioenergetics” and “World Energy Sustainability and Renewable Energies”.
Serving as major professor of one M.S. student and one Ph.D. student.
Serving as a graduate committee member of 3 M.S. students and 4 Ph.D. students.

Attended the annual meeting of the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research (CPBR) on Bioenergy, Environment and Health.
Performed 3 presentations respectively at the ASABE annual international meeting, Brown Bag Seminar of Southeastern SunGrant Initiative, and the Annual ASABE meeting of Tennessee section.
Served as Department representative for Ag Day 2006.
Served as ad hoc reviewer for USDA's National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program, 2006.
Served as moderator for the "Biomass Properties" session at 2006 ASABE annual meeting.





2. Impacts. List up to three significant impacts of your program. Impact statements should be one to three sentences and should be written in a way that would be meaningful to the public.

Successful establishment of bio-based industries demands a stable supply of high quality biomass feedstock in large quantities at competitive prices. A well-developed understanding of the physicochemical properties and variability of biomass accelerates research, development, and implementation of bio-based technologies while minimizing risks associated with innovations. My research addressed three prioritized needs in building bio-based industries.
*Rapid techniques for biomass analysis are a key element supporting commercialization of processes that convert biomass to fuels and chemicals. The information will be essential in designing a versatile and cost-effective process for biomass like cornstover and switchgrass, and will provide valuable experience and insight that can be employed with current and future developments. In addition to significant savings in time and money, rapid, inexpensive analysis techniques can be used to provide levels of information that were not previously available.
*Fundamental understanding of property-function relationships for moisture in biomaterials and the dependence of moisture on the surrounding environment provides critical data concerning biomass handling, storage, and spoilage prevention.
*People’s awareness and support is a key component in developing bio-based industries. By incorporating the research findings and concepts and principles of bio-based industry into our curriculum, our department is preparing a new generation of engineers for the future demands.



B. PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS (EXTENSION, RESEARCH AND TEACHING). As applicable, list title, names of participants (PIs, Leaders, Co-PIs, Co-leaders, Collaborators etc.), project number, sponsor, your role ( leader/co-leader/collaborator) and your percent effort on the project as stated in the project description or document.

2006-2008. Fast and comprehensive analysis of switchgrass bio-oils produced under different conditions. PI: X.P. Ye, 100% effort. #R11-1416-089. DOE. $69,990 (part of DOE sponsored Switchgrass Project, PI: Burton English)

2006-2007. Production of Hydrocarbons and Biomaterials from Biomass. PI: X.P. Ye, 100% effort. #R11-1416-085. UTIA Idea Grants. $2,800

2006-2007. Autothermal Conversion of Glycerol to Hydrogen Under Nano-catalysis. X.P. Ye and Zhiyu Hu. PI: X.P. Ye, 60% effort. #R11-0515-004 sub 1002765. Fellowship from Southeastern SunGrant Initiative in collaboration with ORNL. $11,505.

2006. Longitudinal Study of Navy Beans Using Fourier Transform Near-Infrared Techniques, Phase I -- Methodology development to differentiate bean varieties and the impact of storage conditions. PI: X.P. Ye, 100% effort. #R11-1416-073. Bush Brothers & Company, Knoxville, TN. $10,091.

2005-2010. Investigation of Physicochemical Properties of Biological Materials in Bioprocess Engineering. X.P. Ye, A. Womac, D.G. Hayes, and S. Wang. PI: X.P. Ye, 90% effort. #E11-1415:1001721. USDA HATCH.

2004-2007. Integrated Size Reduction and Separation to Pre-Fractionate Biomass. Womac, AR, D.G. Hayes, X.P. Ye, S. Sokhansanj, L. Wright, S. Narayan, and D. Dungate. #R11-1416-054. X.P. Ye as co-PI, 26% local effort. FY04 Joint Biomass Research and Development Initiative Project, USDA-DOE. $717,399.


C. INSTRUCTION, TEACHING AND EXTENSION EDUCATION. Detail credit and non-credit instruction and teaching activities.

1. College credit instruction. List courses in which you were an instructor or guest lecturer during the current calendar year. Include special topics, independent study and internship courses. Provide course number and title, your involvement, semester(s), credit hours and number of students. Please append a summary of teaching evaluations (student and/or peer) if this information is available.

Course number and title Involvement Semester Credit
hours
Number of
students
BsE500 ThesisTotalFall31
BsE221 Mass and Energy in Biosystems TotalFall37
BsE431 Bioprocess EngineeringTotalFall310

2. Formal continuing education (certification programs, seminar series, in-service training, field days, faculty and/or staff training, journal club, etc.). Provide descriptive title of activity, your involvement, number of participants or students involved, number and duration of each session.

Descrip. title, including dates Involvement Number of students
or participants
Number of
sessions
Duration of each
session (hours)
         

3. Extension presentations and workshops. Indicate title, type, and scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.

Title/Type of presentation Scope Number of times presented Total attendees
       

4. Public addresses to lay audiences (TV/radio presentations, service groups, etc.). Indicate title, type, scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.

Title/Type of presentation Scope Number of times presented Total attendees
       

5. Presentations at professional meetings, without published abstracts. List presenter, co-authors (if any), title, date and name of meeting (list scientific oral or poster presentations having published abstracts or proceedings at D5).

X.P. Ye. 2006. Biorefinery – The Path Forward for Biofuels & Biomaterials. Brown Bag Seminar of Southeastern SunGrant Initiative.

X.P. Ye. 2006. Biorefinery. Annual ASABE meeting of Tennessee section.


6. Student mentoring. Fill in the boxes to indicate number of students in each category.

Level of students No. of students advised No. of active graduate committees on which you served as:
Major professor Committee member
Undergraduate      
Masters  
Doctoral  

7. Student or commodity club activities (e.g. club advisor, team competitions, honor or professional societies, etc.). List the club or group; your role with the club or group; and the activities, honors or awards received by this group under your mentorship.

8. Other instructional and teaching activities.


D. PUBLICATIONS. List only publications that were published during the annual reporting period (for #8, submitted during reporting period). Format citations as typical and appropriate for outlet. If a co-author(s) is a student or was working under your direct supervision, place an asterisk after that person's name.

1. Refereed articles or refereed reviews appearing in peer-reviewed professional journals.

Lin, X., R. Ruan, P. Chen, M. Chung, X. P. Ye, and T. Yang.  2006.  NMR State Diagram Concept.  Journal of Food Science. Vol. 71, Nr. 9, R136-145.

Ye, X. P., S. Wang, R. Ruan, J. Qi, A. R. Womac, and C.J. Doona.  2006.  Water mobility and mold susceptibility of engineered wood products.  Transactions of the ASABE 49(4): 1159-1165.

2. Book chapters or books.

3. Bulletins, reports, circulars, pamphlets, factsheets.

4. Popular press, trade, UTIA magazine or newsletter articles.

5. Abstracts from scientific or discipline meetings, papers from conference proceedings, etc.

Liu, L.*, X. P. Ye, L. M. Kline, D. G. Hayes, A. R. Womac, and S. Sokhansanj.  2006.  Fast biomass compositional analysis using fourier transform near-infrared technique.  Paper No. 066155, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI.

Wang, S., X. P. Ye, and R. Ruan.  2006.  Water Mobility and Mold Susceptibility of Oriented Strandboards.  60th International Convention of the Forest Products Society, Newport Beach, CA.

6. Theses/Dissertations completed by students that you directed.

7. Other publications.

8. Articles submitted during the reporting period that are in review, in press or rejected. Please do not list articles in preparation.

Ye, X. P., J. Julson, M. Kuo, A. R. Womac, and D. Myers.  2006.  Properties of medium density fiberboards made from renewable biomass.  Bioresource Technology 98(5)(2007):1077-1084.  (in press)


E. FUNDING. Format each entry as a citation, include as applicable: investigators (with percent effort shown on grant or contract document), title, source/agency.

1. Grant and contract proposals submitted but not awarded during this reporting period. Indicate date of submission and status (still pending, rejected).

Tyner, J. S. (80%), X. P. Ye (20%).  Environmental Benefits of Infiltrating Stormwater with Pervious Concrete: A Comparison of Options.  RMC Research Foundation.  10/13/06.  $58,811.  (still pending)

Ye, X. P. (60%), Kunlun Hong (40%).  Magnetic Resonance Imaging on Induced Assembly of Bio-nanoparticles for High Throughput Pathogen Det.  Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Awards, ORAU.  1/6/06.  $10,000.  (rejected)

Ye, X. P. (70%).  Autothermal Reforming of Crude Glycerol for Hydrogen and Syngas Production Using Catalysis Including.  USDA.  11/8/06.  $238,000.  (rejected)

2. Grants and contracts awarded during this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award.

Ye, X. P. (100%).  Longitudinal Study of Navy Beans Using Fourier Transform Near-Infrared techniques..  Bush Brothers & Company.  3/1/06-9/30/06.  $10,091.

Ye, X. P. (100%).  Fast and comprehensive analysis of switchgrass bio-oils produced under different conditions..  DOE.  9/1/06-2/28/08.  $69,990.

Ye, X. P. (100%).  Production of Hydrocarbons and Biomaterials from Biomass.  UTIA Idea Grants.  7/1/06-6/30/07.  $2,800.

Ye, X. P. (60%), Zhiyu Hu (40%).  Autothermal Conversion of Glycerol to Hydrogen Under Nano-catalysis.  Southeastern SunGrant Initiative.  11/15/06-6/15/07.  $11,505.

3. Grants and contracts awarded in past years that continued into this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award.

Womac, A. R. (49%), D. G. Hayes (26%), X. P. Ye (26%).  Integrated Size Reduction and Separation to Pre-Fractionate Biomass.  US DOE.  10/1/04-9/30/07.  $717,399.

4. Gifts. List recipients, donor, items or amount donated and dollar equivalent received during the reporting period.

5. Grant reports submitted. List authors, title, to whom submitted, date submitted.

6. Other (e.g. sales, royalties).


F. OTHER CREATIVE ACTIVITIES.

1. Tech. advances (intell. prop., patent, copyright, products, processes, genetic lines/varieties).

2. Computer software (e.g. instructional or research software, CD ROMs).

3. Educational tools.

4. Internet activities.

5. Other creative products and activities.


G. SERVICE. List client outreach activities (both public and private sectors) and professional service.
    
1. Client service.
 a. Commodity or discipline group service activities. List committees, offices held or other roles.

b. Clinical and diagnostic services. List type of service provided and client(s).

c. Service to individual producers, businesses, or corporations as a specialist, consultant or expert advisor (whether paid or unpaid). List your one-on-one service activities with this group of clients.

d. Other (e.g. Ag Day activities, Varsity Visit, judging, presentations at clubs and K-12 schools).

Served as Department representative for Ag Day 2006

2. Professional service (for professional colleagues).
a. Within the university.
I. Committee work. Briefly describe your involvement during the reporting period.
i. University.

ii. UTIA.

iii. Department.

II. Other (e.g. technical assistance to colleagues, peer reviews,
mentoring of junior faculty, hosting visiting scientists).


Collaborator to Dr. Harte (FST) on a proposal to USDA-CSREES-ISE
Reviewed 2 HATCH proposals

b. Outside the university (e.g. committee work/offices in professional or public organizations or societies, editorship, editorial boards, review of manuscripts (indicate outlet) and project proposals (indicate agency), meetings organized, member of grant review panel or study section, moderator, etc.).

Served as ad hoc reviewer for USDA's National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program, 2006.

Served as session (Biomass Properties) moderator for 2006 ASABE International Meeting.

Invited by CRC Press to review a book proposal tentatively titled “Ohmic Heating for Processing Foods”. (2006)

Manuscript reviewer for Bioresource Technology, Transactions of the ASABE, and Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.




H. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (meetings, workshops, classes, trips, etc.). List the event or activity, sponsor, duration of event and your role.

Attended the annual meeting of the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research (CPBR) on Bioenergy, Environment and Health. 2006.

Attended TAES new faculty orientation, 2006.

Attended Oak Ridge Chapter of ASM International Educational Symposium on Heterogeneous Catalysis, 2006.


I. PERSONNEL SUPERVISION. List the postdoctoral fellows, research associates, research assistants, technicians, extension associates, extension assistants, graduate assistants, undergraduate students, clerical personnel or others that you supervised during the year.

ClassificationFTE's per semester
SpringSummerFall
Postdoctoral fellows      
Research associates, assistants, technicians      
Extension associates, assistants      
Graduate students, assistants
Undergraduate students    
Clerical personnel      
Other      


J. HONORS AND AWARDS. List honors and awards received during reporting period, including the name of the organization presenting the award.