John Ralph

Last updated
John Ralph
Born (1954-10-10) October 10, 1954 (age 69)
Canterbury, New Zealand
Nationality New Zealander, American
Alma mater University of Wisconsin-Madison
Occupations
  • Researcher
  • educator
  • wood scientist
Years activeSince 1976
Scientific career
Institutions
Thesis Reactions of lignin model quinone methides and NMR studies of lignins  (1982)
Doctoral advisor

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] He is an elected fellow (FIAWS) of the International Academy of Wood Science [3] and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS).

Contents

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] In 2024, Ralph, along with Belgian biochemist Wout Boerjan, received the prestigius Marcus Wallenberg Prize for the yearlong research on lignin chemistry. [5]

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. In 1982, he received his PhD by carrying out studies on lignins using NMR, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the supervision of Raymond A. Young of the Department of Forestry and Larry Landucci of the Forest Products Laboratory. [6]

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. [7]

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

Ralph received the Anselme Payen Award in 2013 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). [8]

His referred review work titled Lignin biosynthesis, which was published in 2003 at the journal Annual Review of Plant Biology, has received until June 2024, more than 5.700 international citations.

Ralph was recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Symposium of Wood, Fiber, and Pulping Chemistry. He is also a distinguished professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. [9] Up to June 2024, Ralph has received more than 69,000 international citations for his research works in Google Scholar and has an h-index of 134. [10]

Areas of specialisation

Related Research Articles

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6
H
10
O
5
)
n
, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fiber is 90%, that of wood is 40–50%, and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%.

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References

  1. "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.
  2. "University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  3. "Fellows". The International Academy of Wood Science. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  4. 1 2 "John Ralph to receive Anselme Payen Award – eCALS". eCALS – College of Agricultural & Life Sciences. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  5. "John Ralph Awarded Top Forestry Prize for Lignin Research". 17 April 2024.
  6. https://boku.ac.at/fileadmin/BOKU-Topstories/JohnRalphCV.pdf CV, John Ralph
  7. https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ralph-5ba96823/ John Ralph, @Linkedin>
  8. Baas, Jeroen (2023), "Bibliometrics", October 2023 data-update for "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators", vol. 6, Elsevier Data Repository, doi:10.17632/BTCHXKTZYW.6 , retrieved 2023-11-11
  9. Möldri, Jessica (2024-04-17). "Conceptual framework and pioneering research for advanced understanding of lignin". MWP. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  10. "John Ralph". Google Scholar. Retrieved 2024-06-27.