TBA
","image_description":"","creation_date":"2026-03-02T09:46:57","last_modification_date":"2026-03-02T09:50:51","link_label":"","link_url":"https://www.epfl.ch/schools/sb/research/math/statistics-seminars/","canceled":"False","cancel_reason":"","place_and_room":"CM 1 517","url_place_and_room":"https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==CM%201%20517","url_online_room":"","spoken_languages":["https://memento.epfl.ch/api/v1/spoken_languages/2/?format=json"],"speaker":"Sam Allen, KIT","organizer":"Rajita Chandak","contact":"Maroussia Schaffner","is_internal":"False","theme":"","vulgarization":{"id":2,"fr_label":"Public averti","en_label":"Informed public"},"registration":{"id":3,"fr_label":"Entrée libre","en_label":"Free"},"keywords":"","file":null,"icalendar_url":"https://memento.epfl.ch/event/export/119928/","category":{"id":1,"code":"CONF","fr_label":"Conférences - Séminaires","en_label":"Conferences - Seminars","activated":true},"academic_calendar_category":null,"domains":[],"mementos":["https://memento.epfl.ch/api/v1/mementos/288/?format=json","https://memento.epfl.ch/api/v1/mementos/1/?format=json","https://memento.epfl.ch/api/v1/mementos/5/?format=json","https://memento.epfl.ch/api/v1/mementos/7/?format=json","https://memento.epfl.ch/api/v1/mementos/6/?format=json"]},{"id":71499,"title":"IMX Talks - Value-added utilization of biomass and CO2 for sustainable aviation fuels and biomaterials","slug":"imx-talks-value-added-utilization-of-biomass-and-2","event_url":"https://memento.epfl.ch/event/imx-talks-value-added-utilization-of-biomass-and-2","visual_url":"https://memento.epfl.ch/image/32841/200x112.jpg","visual_large_url":"https://memento.epfl.ch/image/32841/720x405.jpg","visual_maxsize_url":"https://memento.epfl.ch/image/32841/max-size.jpg","lang":"en","start_date":"2026-04-16","end_date":"2026-04-16","start_time":"15:30:00","end_time":"16:15:00","description":"The conversion of low-carbon resources such as biomass and CO2 into synthetic liquid fuels, value-added chemicals, and biomaterials is a crucial approach for global carbon emission reduction. In this context, this talk will focus on recent research advances on biomass and CO2 conversion to sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), chemicals and bio-based materials. Considering the challenges associated with low-carbon resources, including dispersed distribution, significant fluctuations in raw material composition, and high conversion costs, a distributed-centralized system utilizing alcohols as key platform molecules has been proposed. Alcohol synthesis from biomass and CO2 will be presented with the focus on catalysis for methanol (thermocatalysis) and ethanol synthesis (electrocatalysis) from CO2. Conversion of alcohol to SAF will be introduced with discussions on the design of multifunctional catalysts for alcohol conversion, the dynamic evolution of catalytic sites, and the strategies for tuning product distributions. Additionally, a few examples of biobased materials, such as cellulose nanofiber-based biomaterials and bio-based nylon precursor and polyester precursor, will be presented.
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\r\nBio: Dr. Zhenglong Li is the “Qiushi” Chair Professor of Zhejiang University. He is the lead of the sustainable aviation fuels research of the State Key Laboratory of Bio-based Transportation Fuel Technology, director of the Biomass Value-Added Utilization Research Center, and the director of the Bio-based Chemicals Division in the Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou. His research is dedicated to the high-value utilization of biomass and carbon dioxide to synthesize sustainable aviation fuel, chemicals, and bio-based materials. He was the team lead in the biomass conversion area at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (United States) prior to joining Zhejiang University. He was the committee member for the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium under the United States Department of Energy (DOE). His group focus on in-depth understanding of the catalytic processes of biomass and carbon dioxide at the molecular level to guide catalyst design, process development, and industrial application, especially R&D of SAF, bio-based chemicals, key bio-based polymer building blocks. His research group has published many high-impact scientific papers in top journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc., Nat. Commun., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., ACS Catal., Appl. Catal. B., and others. In terms of technology commercialization, he has developed new core technologies such as bio-based alcohols conversion for sustainable aviation fuel and bio-based biodegradable materials.
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Thesis Directors: Prof. J. Baudry, Dr F. Jarrige
\r\nArchitecture and Sciences of the City doctoral program
\r\nThesis Nr. 11656
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\r\nTo take part in the public defense, please contact directly the speaker
Thesis Director: Prof. J. Luterbacher,
\r\nChemistry and Chemical Engineering doctoral program
\r\nThesis Nr. 11207
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\r\nTo take part in the public defense, please contact directly the speaker
Chemical protein synthesis provides a powerful means to prepare novel, modified proteins with atomic-level precision, offering unprecedented opportunities to understand fundamental biological processes.1 Of particular interest is gene expression, which is controlled through interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and DNA. This presentation will highlight the power of combining total synthesis and late-stage transformations to generate complex, modified proteins for deciphering the molecular roles of post-translational modifications (PTMs) in TFs regulation. Specific examples will focus on the synthesis of site-specifically phosphorylated and acetylated TFs, such as the Myc/Max system.2, 3 Remarkably, these studies revealed that phosphorylation and acetylation patterns modulate Max–DNA interactions by altering DNA binding affinity and sequence specificity. Importantly, such mechanistic insights led to the development of novel bioactive miniproteins derived from Max (μMax), capable of inhibiting oncogene expression and cancer cell proliferation through antagonistic binding to target genes in cancer cells, paving the way for the development of new therapeutic proteins targeting oncogene expression.4-6
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\r\n1. O. Harel, M. Jbara, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2023, 62, e202217716
\r\n2. R. Nithun, Y. Yao, X. Lin, S. Habiballah, A. Afek, M. Jbara, Angew. Chem. In. Ed., 2023, 62, e202310913
\r\n3. R. Nithun, Y. Yao, O. Harel, S. Habiballah, A. Afek, M. Jbara, ACS Central Science, 2024, 10, 1295–1303
\r\n4. X. Lin, S. Mandal, R. Nithun, R. Kolla, B. Bouri, H. Lashuel, M. Jbara, JACS, 2024, 146, 25788
\r\n5. X. Lin, O. Harel, M. Jbara, Angew. Chem. In. Ed., 2024, 63, e202317511
\r\n6. O. Harel, F. Nadal-Bufi, R. Nithun, Y. Yao, A. Afek, M. Vendrell, M. Jbara, JACS, 2025, 147, 46, 42647