Lucian Lucia, professor in the Department of Forest Biomaterials at NC State, has been named a 2023-24 University Faculty Scholar.
The University Faculty Scholars program honors early and mid-career faculty who have excelled academically and contributed to NC State via teaching, scholarship, and service.
Lucia, who also has an associate academic post in the Department of Chemistry, directs the Laboratory of Soft Materials and Green Chemistry. His study primarily focuses on using green chemistry to alter cellulose for biological applications.
Green chemistry is the use of a set of principles to decrease or eliminate the use or production of hazardous compounds in the design, manufacture, and use of chemical products. Lucia began researching it as a means to reduce the chemical and energy costs of transforming wood into textiles.
Lucia has authored over 400 publications. In 2006, he co-founded BioResources, an open-access worldwide scientific journal that publishes original research articles, reviews, and editorials on the underlying science, engineering, and advanced applications of lignocellulosic materials.
Lucia received the David Wetherhorn Award from TAPPI in 2021 for co-authoring the paper, “Extension of a steady-state chlorine dioxide brightening model for Z-ECF bleaching of softwood kraft pulps.”. He was named a TAPPI Fellow in 2022.
In addition to research, Lucia has made important contributions to undergraduate and graduate education at NC State. He is now teaching various courses, including Principles of Green Chemistry and Forest Biomaterials Chemistry. Lucia received the 2022 “Most Supportive Faculty/Staff Member Award” for his unwavering support of his students.
Lucia joined NC State in 2004. He got his Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry from the University of Florida, where he spent six years researching fundamental electron and energy transport phenomena in organometallic frameworks. Lucia later worked as an assistant professor in a research institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
