Prof. Roger Ruan to be inducted into National Academy of Inventors for significant advances in renewable energy and environment technologies

University of Minnesota Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering professor Roger Ruan, PhD, has been named a National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellow and will be inducted into the NAI at the academy’s annual meeting in June 2024.

Prof. Ruan was chosen for induction by the NAI Fellows Selection Committee for demonstrating “a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society.”

“Roger is an innovative researcher; his work represents significant advances of utilizing biomass and solid wastes for valuable commodities, and implementing new technologies such as catalytic non-thermal plasma and low temperature microwave/pulse microwave at the production scale,” said BBE department head Hua Zhao. “He sets an excellent example of integrating innovation, discovery and research together.”

Professor Roger Ruan is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, and the Director of the Center for Biorefining at the University of Minnesota. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, the Institute of Food Technologists, the International Association of Advanced Materials, and Vebleo. Prof. Ruan's research focuses on renewable energy and environment technologies as well as food engineering for sustainable development and circular economy.

Prof. Ruan has published more than 600 papers in refereed journals, two books, and 28 book chapters, and holds 19 US patents. He is a top-cited author in engineering and technologies with more than 35,000 citations. 

He has supervised more than 75 graduate students, 150 post-doctoral fellows and other engineers and scientists, many of whom hold University faculty positions. Prof. Ruan has received and managed more than 200 projects totaling more than $45 million in research funding, including from the USDA, DOE, DOT, DOD, LCCMR, and industries. He has organized and chaired international conferences and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in renewable energy technologies, food process engineering, and more. 

The 2023 NAI Fellows will be honored and presented their medals by a senior official of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at the NAI’s 13th Annual Meeting on June 18th, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Congratulations to Professor Ruan on this well-deserved recognition as a prolific academic inventor.