Engineer’s research on CO2 conversion gets boost from Japanese chemical company

Perhaps no other researcher has had as much success as UCLA's James Liao in developing technology to turn carbon dioxide into products essential for the green economy. In particular, his innovative work engineering bacteria to convert CO2 into alcohols for use in biofuels and chemicals could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide for cleaner, greener energy worldwide. Now Liao, the Chancellor's Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, is being sponsored by the KAITEKI Institute Inc. (TKI) — a strategic arm of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. Japan's largest chemical company — to research ways of recycling and converting CO2 into chemicals that can be used to produce a variety of industrial products, such as car bumpers, packaging materials, diapers and DVDs. To address the global challenges in energy and the environment, TKI will fund Liao's research annually. Institute officials say they hope their work with Liao will continue for many years.