Jason Lam, Ph.D

Jason Lam's picture

Assistant Professor at the School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong

https://www.cityu.edu.hk/see/people/dr-chun-ho-jason-lam

Ph.D., in Chemistry, Michigan State University, 2014
B.S., in Chemistry, Long Island University, 2009

Prior to joining Prof. Anastas’ group at Yale, Jason worked with Prof. Jackson at Michigan State on upgrading biomass fast pyrolysis oil, a corrosive unstable organic liquid, to hydrocarbon fuels using renewable electricity. His research primarily focused on optimizing various skeletal metal catalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogenation/hydrodeoxygenation of lignin-derived aromatics under mild conditions. His work also probed mechanisms of electrocatalytic aryl ether cleavage, a process with potential value for deoxygenation and lignin cleavage. Other than being a chemist, Jason was also an engineer at heart, collaborating closely with biosystems and chemical engineers to design a “reverse fuel cell” or supporting electrolyte-free electrolyzer for biofuel upgrading. This work was filed as a provisional patent by the university.

Outside of lab work, Jason is an educator and an environment enthusiast. Throughout his 5-year graduate training, he has been an active student mentor for the MSU-HSHSP (“High School Honors Science Program”, the longest continuously-running university HS science program in the US), as well as numerous undergraduate student researchers; he also directed several campus wide recycling programs. With these extracurricular activities and Prof. Paul Anastas’ nomination, Jason was the fortunate recipient of the 2015 Yale – Gaylord Donnelley Environmental Fellowship, which supports him to continue his academic adventure as a postdoctoral associate at the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, working on new paths to renewable fuels and chemicals.

2015 Donnelley and YIBS Postdoctoral Environmental Fellow

2014 Harold Hart Endowed Fellow