People | tiklab

Noppadon Sathitsuksanoh (Tik)

SHORT BIO

Noppadon Sathitsuksanoh (his colleagues call him “Tik’ for short) was born in Bangkok, Thailand and happily lived there for the next 13 years prior to attending Thammasat University. After graduation, he pursued Master’s and doctoral research at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Auburn University, and Virginia Tech. Next, he joined the Joint BioEnergy Institute at Lawrence Berkeley National lab of Profs. Harvey Blanch, Jay Keasling, Blake Simmons, and Anthe George as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. At Joint BioEnergy Institute, he developed catalytic strategies to depolymerize lignin and introduced a general framework to control reactive intermediates and product selectivities. In the Fall of 2015, Tik joined the faculty at the University of Louisville. His research interests focus on developing porous materials as catalysts to produce clean energy and sustainable materials from waste polymers - biomass and plastics. He uses spectroscopies and quantum calculations to help design catalytic materials and processes. These interests lie at the interface of physical chemistry, materials science, and process development. His work enables a transition to a clean energy economy, creates environmental sustainability jobs, mitigates GHG emissions, and supports rural economies. Outside the lab, Tik enjoys biking, swimming, hiking, and drinking beer---sorry Kentucky. It is not Bourbon!

EDUCATION & TRAINING

2015 Postdoctoral fellow, Joint BioEnergy Institute

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA

2011 PhD, BioSystems Engineering

Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

2007 MS, Chemical Engineering & Applied Economics

Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

1999 BS, Chemical Engineering

Thammasat University, Thailand

HONORS & AWARDS

2022 CAREER Award, NSF

2021 Teaching Excellence Award, University of Louisville

2012 - 2015 Industrial Partnership Awards, Joint BioEnergy Institute

2008 - 2011 ICTAS fellowships, Virginia Tech

Current group members

Napat Lertthanaphol (PhD student)

Napat (Mac) completed his B.S./M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Mahidol University in 2022. Currently, He is working toward his PhD degree in Chemical Engineering. His project involves plastic upcycling and fast-charging electrolytes for batteries. When not in the lab, he enjoyed Chorale singing.

Colin Suttles (MEng student)

Colin completed his B.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Louisville in 2018. He is working on his MS in Chemical Engineering. His project involves the upgrading of natural gas (methane, ethane, and propane).

Michael Willis (MEng student)

Michael completed his B.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Louisville in 2018. Currently, he is working on his MS in Chemical Engineering. His project involves the upgrading of plastic wastes and lignocellulose using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).