Dr. Kai Lan

Dr. Kai Lan

North Carolina State University
Sustainable bioenergy and biomaterials

Associated member of the Young Academy for Sustainability Research (YAS)
October 2024 – September 2027

Website

ORCID

E-Mail: klan2@ncsu.edu

Last Update: 08.11.2024

Curriculum Vitae

Kai Lan is the Assistant Professor of Sustainability Science and Engineering at the Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University. Lan received Ph.D. in forest biomaterials from the North Carolina State University in 2020, M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2016, and B.S. in mechanical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2014. Lan was a postdoctoral associate at Yale University from 2021-2023. Lan’s research interest covers developing new methods and integrated modeling frameworks to assess and advance industrial systems and the built environment related to sustainable bioenergy and biomaterials. Lan’s research uses interdisciplinary approaches in industrial ecology, sustainable engineering, artificial intelligence, and ecological modeling to develop systems analysis tools to support engineering and policy decisions towards sustainability, especially in the context of climate change mitigation and circular economy. Lan’s research topics cover sustainable bioenergy and sustainable biomaterials, carbon footprint and climate change mitigation, upcycling solid waste, green building, artificial intelligence, process design and simulation, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of emerging technologies. Lan leads the Sustainability Analysis and Innovation Lab (SAIL). Lan was selected as the associate member of the Young Academy for Sustainability Research.

Selected Publications

Lan, K., Zhang, B., Lee, T., & Yao, Y. (2024). Soil organic carbon change can reduce the climate benefits of biofuel produced from forest residues. Joule.
Lan, K.#, Zhang, B.#, Harris, T. B., Ashton, M. S. and Yao, Y.* (2023). Climate-smart forestry through innovative wood products and commercial afforestation and reforestation on marginal land. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(23), e2221840120.
Lan, K., Zhang, B., & Yao, Y. (2022) Circular utilization of urban tree waste contributes to the mitigation of climate change and eutrophication. One Earth, 5(8), 944-957.
Lan, K., & Yao, Y. (2022). Dynamic life cycle assessment of energy technologies under different greenhouse gas concentration pathways. Environmental Science & Technology, Cover Paper, 56(2), 1395–1404.
Lan, K., Ou, L., Park, S., Kelley, S. S., English, B. C., Yu, T. E., Larson, J., & Yao, Y. (2020). Techno-Economic Analysis of Decentralized Preprocessing Systems for Fast Pyrolysis Biorefineries with Blended Feedstocks in the Southeastern United States. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 143, 110881.

Curriculum Vitae

Selected Publications

YAS Project

TBA