From Student to Professor: Ting-Feng Yeh Returns to NC State to Join Forest Biomaterials Faculty

Ting-Feng Yeh, who graduated with a doctoral degree in wood and paper science from NC State in 2005, has joined the College of Natural Resources as an associate professor of forest biomaterials.

Yeh earned a bachelor’s degree in forest product utilization and a master’s degree in forest product chemistry from the School of Forestry and Resource Conservation at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan before enrolling at NC State.

After completing his doctoral degree at NC State, Yeh worked as a postdoctoral researcher with the Forest Biotechnology Group in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources from 2006-2008.

Yeh returned to National Taiwan University in 2009. He spent more than a decade in the School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, serving as an assistant professor from 2009-2015 and then as an associate professor from 2015-2024.

Now in his first semester at NC State, Yeh continues to build on his research examining the properties and chemical utilization of biomass materials to develop renewable and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-based materials for industrial purposes.

Yeh’s research primarily focuses on improving the scientific understanding of woody cell wall structure and formation, including natural variations, biosynthesis, environmental interactions and performance in different chemical utilizations.

Based on his previous studies of wood materials, Yeh is also currently analyzing the chemical properties of non-wood materials (straw, bamboo, grass, etc.) and the chemical utilization of their byproduct, kraft lignin, from the pulp and paper industry.

“Knowing how these biomasses are biochemically synthesized and how they are chemically arranged in the cell wall would provide great opportunities to utilize them more efficiently by adapting more energy-saving and environment-friendly processing steps,” Yeh said. 

Yeh has been awarded more than $40 million (TWD) in research funding over the course of his career, authoring or co-authoring nearly 40 peer-reviewed papers and two book chapters. He has also given more than 30 conference and consortium presentations.

In addition to his research, Yeh has long served as lead instructor of both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses. At National Taiwan University, Yeh received the Outstanding Teaching Award in 2011, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022. 

Yeh has also served as a mentor on more than a dozen thesis or dissertation projects. In 2016 and 2020, Yeh received the Outstanding Mentor Award for his work with graduate students in the School of Forestry and Resource Conservation.

Beginning in the spring, Yeh will resume his teaching responsibilities at NC State. He will serve as lead instructor for two courses in the Department of Forest Biomaterials: PSE 332: Wood and Pulping Chemistry and FB 723: Forest Biomaterial Chemistry. 

Yeh said his courses are designed to be accessible and engaging, with an emphasis on helping students comprehend and apply real-world concepts through interactive discussions, hands-on experiences and literature review. 

Currently, Yeh is hiring two graduate students who are “motivated, determined and excited to acquire new knowledge and skills” to serve as research assistants in his lab. Interested students can contact him at tyeh@ncsu.edu.

This post was originally published in College of Natural Resources News.