Yingying Zheng

China Agricultural University, College of Information and Electrical Engineering,

Dr. Yingying Zheng is currently a Professor at the China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Before that, she worked in the College of Engineering at Utah State University as a tenure-track assistant professor since Jun. 1, 2020. Before that, she worked at Utah State University as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to joining USU, Zheng worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah. She received a doctoral degree in energy system engineering from the University of California, Davis, and a master’s degree in agricultural and biological engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Zheng is a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and IEEE’s Power and Energy Society. Her research areas include energy system modeling and optimization, renewable energy conversion and integration, life cycle assessment, and engineering economics.

Yike Chen

Codexis, Inc.

Yike Chen is working as a Scientist at Codexis, Inc, in California, USA. He earned his PhD degree in Biological Systems Engineering from UC Davis in 2020. He worked as a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at UC Davis before he continued to pursue his career goal in the bio-industry. His research focused on bioprocess development, organic waste management, and sustainable production of biofuel and bioproducts. He is currently interested in applying his knowledge of fermentation and biosystems engineering in sustainable performance enzyme production on an industrial scale. He was also one of the Business Development fellows offered by the UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

Shu Cai

University of California, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department,

Dr. Shu Cai is currently a Postdoc working at University of California, Davis. Prior to that, he worked in the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences as an assistant researcher since Nov. 30, 2015. He acquired his PhD degree in microbiology at Nanjing Agricultural University in 2015 and a bachelor’s degree in microbiology at Nanjing Agricultural University in 2010. His research areas include biosynthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoate(PHA) using waste materials, biodegradation of organic pollutants and the underlying molecular mechanisms, carbon and nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems.