Marine Algae Polysaccharides: An Overview of Characterization Techniques for Structural and Molecular Elucidation

S. Kim R. Williams is a Professor at the Laboratory for Advanced Separation Technologies, Department of Chemistry, Colorado School of Mines. She graduated from McGill University and received her B.S. Then, she obtained her Ph.D. from Michigan State University. After graduation, she was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Utah. Her research group is highly interdisciplinary, integrating analytical chemistry, (nano)materials, polymers, and biology. They are interested in developing new analytical techniques and probing complex materials and biological systems to understand their function and behavior better. They aim to establish a fundamental understanding of transport mechanisms leading to the successful separation and characterization of nanometer- to micron-sized analytes and to apply the developed technologies to solve high-impact problems ranging from solar energy conversion to protein aggregation in biopharmaceutics.

Dr. Lieve Laurens is a Principal Scientist and Distinguished Member of the Research Staff at NREL’s Biosciences Center, where she is currently team lead and Algae Program manager. She is the principal investigator on research projects in analytical biochemistry, investigating ways to understand carbon energetics in and derived from photosynthetic algae and seaweeds towards lipids and carbohydrates, through direct CO2 capture. A large emphasis of her current research is the pursuit of low-carbon intensity products that can be derived from sustainably sourced biomass and elucidating the biochemistry that leads to these products. This work includes bio-derived lipids, bio-based plastics, surfactants, and polyurethanes as promising oleochemical products, as well as polysaccharide extraction, characterization, and valorization. She has extensive experience in biotechnology, with a focus on bioenergy. Dr. Laurens was, until 2021, the chair of the Algae Biomass Organization's Technical Standards Committee, leading the development of industry acceptance of algal biomass, bioproducts, and biofuels, and she is a guest editor and advisory board member for the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Sustainable Energy and Fuels. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from the University of Ghent in Belgium and the University of Paris, France, and a PhD in Plant Biochemistry from the University of East Anglia and the John Innes Centre in Norwich, England.