John Ralph
John Ralph | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 10, 1954 Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealander, American |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | Since 1976 |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Reactions of lignin model quinone methides and NMR studies of lignins (1982) |
| Doctoral advisor |
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John Ralph (born October 10, 1954) is a New Zealand-born, American chemist, wood scientist, and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Department of Biochemistry),[1][2] who is an elected fellow (FIAWS) of the International Academy of Wood Science[3] and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS).
Ralph received the Anselme Payen Award in 2013 by the American Chemical Society for his research contributions to the science and chemical technology of cellulose and mostly in lignin chemistry.[4]
Early life and education
Ralph was born in Canterbury, New Zealand, where he grew up. He earned his BSc (Hons) degree in chemistry from the University of Canterbury in 1976. He got his PhD in chemistry/forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1982, under the supervision of Raymond A. Young of the Department of Forestry, and Larry Landucci of the Forest Products Laboratory.[5]
Research career
Following his role as a research scientist at the Forest Research Institute in Rotorua between 1974 and 1987, Ralph assumed the position of scientific head at the Research Laboratory for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.
Between 1988 and 2008, Ralph was a research chemist at the USDA-ARS U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin, holding joint appointments in the Departments of Forestry and Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin.[6]
In 2008, Ralph was appointed a professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 2015, he has held the title of distinguished professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Ralph currently sits on the editorial boards of several journals, including BioEnergy Research, Journal of Wood Chemistry and Technology, Holzforschung, and Journal Science of Food and Agriculture.
Recognition
In 2013, Ralph received the Anselme Payen Award from the American Chemical Society for his research contributions in lignin chemistry.[4]
In October 2023, a referenced meta-research carried out by John Ioannidis and his team at the Stanford University, included Ralph in Elsevier Data 2022, where he was ranked in the global top 2% of researchers of all time in the area of chemical biology (plant biology – organic chemistry).[7]
Up to November 2023, Ralph has received almost 65,000 international citations for his research works in Google Scholar and has an h-index of 130.[8]
Areas of specialisation
- Biosynthesis of lignin (including the delineation of pathways), structure of lignin, chemistry of lignin, reactions of lignin.
- Analysis of the impacts of disturbing lignin biosynthesis, with extensions aimed at restructuring lignins for enhanced degradability to facilitate improved lignocellulosic bioprocessing.
- Formulation of synthetic methods for various biosynthetic products, precursors, intermediates, molecular markers, and cell wall model compounds.
- Utilization of solution-state NMR, with a focus on cell wall components, particularly lignins; development of methods; application of NMR to unfractionated cell walls.
- Examination of mechanisms involved in cell wall cross-linking.
- Implementation of methods for the analysis of wall structure, encompassing chemical/degradative approaches, NMR, GC-MS, etc.
- Devising techniques for the production of commodity phenolic chemicals from lignin and plant cell wall aromatics.
References
- ^ "John Ralph honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at International Symposium on Wood, Fiber and Pulping Chemistry". Department of Biochemistry. 2023-07-20. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ "University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ "Fellows". The International Academy of Wood Science. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ a b "John Ralph to receive Anselme Payen Award – eCALS". eCALS – College of Agricultural & Life Sciences. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ https://boku.ac.at/fileadmin/BOKU-Topstories/JohnRalphCV.pdf CV, John Ralph
- ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ralph-5ba96823/ John Ralph, @Linkedin>
- ^ Baas, Jeroen, October 2023 data-update for "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators", Elsevier Data Repository, doi:10.17632/BTCHXKTZYW.6, retrieved 2023-11-11
- ^ "John Ralph". Google Scholar. Retrieved 2023-11-11.