Dr. Xianglan Bai is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and an Associate Director at the Bioeconomy Institute. In addition, she serves as the Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and holds a courtesy professorship in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
We approached Dr. Bai, a highly successful leader in bioeconomic research, to discuss her personal journey, her research philosophy, and the lessons she has learned so far in her illustrious career. The following is an interview Dr Xianglan Bai (XB) had with our Program Specialist Olivier Ntaganzwa (ON).
Olivier Ntaganzwa: Looking back, what first sparked your interest in science and research? When you were growing up, did you imagine yourself becoming a scientist, or did your career take an unexpected path?
Dr. Xianglan Bai: As a child, I dreamed of becoming a scientist, and I am now! So, you can say my childhood dream came true (laughs). I was quite interested in academia; I did well in my science classes, so of course I wanted to become a scientist.
ON: That's pretty cool! You are the scientist you had always dreamed of becoming, and you are widely recognized for your success in securing research funding and leading numerous projects. What habits, strategies, or mindsets have helped you stay productive and competitive as a principal investigator?
XB: I don't know whether I can call myself successful. I, however, believe that as a scientist, you need to be given the platform to exercise your capability, right? Fortunately, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Bioeconomy Institute provided me with a really good platform to explore my research ideas and delve into new areas of scientific inquiry. Infrastructure-wise, both the Department and the Institute have a lot of equipment and instruments that allow us to conduct different types of research. Moreover, the Bioeconomy Institute provides access to a community of collaborators from different research backgrounds. All of that has helped me, and it has been quite an eye-opening experience. With all that expertise, it is way easier to develop some out-of-the-box ideas and bring them to life through collaborative research. The Bioeconomy Institute is really one of the best things that happened in my life as a researcher.
ON: Artificial intelligence and digital technologies are transforming how research is conducted. How are you using these tools in your work, and what opportunities or challenges do you see for the future of bioeconomy research?
XB: I am an experimentalist first, and I do not plan to develop anything around AI. However, I'm willing to collaborate with some AI researchers, and we have already written several research grant proposals together. I believe AI can reduce the number of experimental tests we need run, thereby optimizing our processes and saving time and resources. AI can also provide insights that are not easy to discover through experiments alone. For all the reasons above, I view AI as a research facilitator.
Another advantage of AI is that it saves time. We are only given 24 hours a day, and however hard one might work, it's impossible to absorb all the knowledge available in the field. AI can help us extract critical information from all the knowledge that was published worldwide in a very short time or at least give us a clue on where to start. That is a very important skill, especially for a complex field like the bioeconomy. As the saying goes, “we stand on the shoulders of giants,” and AI helps us to achieve it. That being said, one should not trust everything that AI produces, because the information can sometimes be misleading! That is why we get trained on how to use AI effectively to improve our work while being able to identify and avoid any incorrect information AI might feed us.
ON: You mentioned standing on the shoulders of giants. Junior researchers might perceive you as a giant in your domain of expertise. You mentor students and young researchers and early-career scholars who hope to make a meaningful impact in the bioeconomy domain. What advice would you give them as they build their careers, and what skills do you think will be most important in the next decade?
XB: That is a very good question! Actually, in my career, I have been exposed to all sorts of areas. In the early stages of my career, I contributed to a broad spectrum of research areas, developing technologies for aerospace, food systems, and biomedical applications. Over the past 15 years, my research has focused on biorenewables, where I have worked to advance sustainable technologies and bio-based solutions. Having those experiences has helped me understand the one thing that might help the students: their future work is not necessarily going to be a continuation of their dissertation. There is a high chance they might be called upon to work in a different field. The question now is: how can you build lifelong skills that can benefit you throughout your career? I would recommend developing critical thinking skills and learning how to logically approach problems.
Researchers should be able to translate knowledge learned from textbooks and journal articles into their own work. However, mastering this ability can be challenging and does not come naturally to everyone. Reading should be an active process of learning how to apply new knowledge to your own research. It should not be like watching a movie and then forgetting the content shortly afterward. The ability to translate what you learn into practice is essential for becoming an effective researcher.
This is what I always emphasize to my students: develop your logical thinking. Learn how your research can be translated and transferred to whatever area or research you are involved in in the future.
ON: That's, indeed, very important. Now, time for our last question! You just mentioned how you have been involved in many domains, including projects related to the bioeconomy. Of all the projects you've worked on, which one has been the most rewarding or memorable, and why?
XB: One of the unique parts of my research program right now is how to valorize renewables and transform sustainable, low-cost feedstock into value-added products, and we use different types of the technologies to achieve that goal. Our research focuses on converting biomass and plastic waste into sustainable biofuels, chemicals, and advanced materials. Since I joined the Bioeconomy Institute, thermochemical conversion, particularly pyrolysis, has been a core area of focus for my group. Over time, we expanded our expertise into emerging electrification technologies, including plasma-assisted and Joule heating-based conversion processes. In addition, we have developed substantial expertise in the manufacturing and application of advanced carbon materials. These projects were especially rewarding, as they not only generated publishable research outcomes but also attracted external funding that allowed us to further develop and evaluate our ideas. In that respect, I'm grateful for what we accomplished.
None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the contributions of my former and current students and postdoctoral scholars. I am profoundly thankful for their hard work and commitment. Their efforts provided the preliminary data needed to develop competitive research proposals, and together we translated those results into publications, successful grant applications, and a recognized presence in the field.
Dr. Bai (first right) highly credits her current and former students and postdoctoral scholars for their contributions to her research
Looking back, each project has brought its own rewards, but the most important lessons have been the value of persistence and collaboration. Persistence is what keeps us moving forward when tackling difficult problems that may take years to solve. Equally important, collaboration has allowed me to work with exceptional researchers and industry partners, expand my horizons, and learn how to contribute effectively within diverse and multidisciplinary teams.
ON: That’s awesome!
XB: Yes, it is! Through these projects, we also developed several patentable innovations. It has been particularly rewarding to see some of our research generate interest from organizations around the world for potential commercialization, demonstrating the real-world impact and value of our work.
ON: Just like you said, persistence is another aspect that's really important in developing successful research.
XB: Sure. That being said, not every project deserves persistence! (laughs) There are some projects we chose to phase out along the way, but for others, we persisted, and they kept moving forward.