Wei Liao is the 2026 recipient of the Ralph H. Smuckler Award for Advancing International Studies and Programs at MSU, which recognizes long-term achievement in the promotion and advancement of international scholarship, teaching and public service.

Liao is a professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering, and director of the MSU Anaerobic Digestion Research and Education Center. He also is chair of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Global Engagement Committee.

Liao’s international research activities on three continents — South America, Europe and Asia — has resulted in many cross-disciplinary collaborations between several institutions, over $12 million in external funding to support his research, more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, over 40 presentations in international settings, and many leadership and committee roles.

In Central America, Liao led a multi-disciplinary team in Central America to promote integrated solar-bio-power wastewater utilization, which led to three additional grants from Costa Rican, Brazilian and German governments. His current work with the Costa Rica team to develop a compressed natural gas production system using pineapple residues to power the pineapple industry’s truck fleet.

“Some of the most meaningful moments in my career have come from these efforts,” said Liao.

In Europe, his work with scientists and engineers from the University of Bologna and the University of Catania to study agricultural byproduct handling and renewable energy production in Sicily, Italy has led to a report implementing digestion and associate technologies to address this issue and produce bioenergy in Sicily.

In Asia, his research addresses the smog problem in Beijing, caused by open-field burning of agricultural residues. He also has collaborated with a research group in Kazakhstan to establish research capacity on renewable energy in Kazakhstan.

Liao’s international educational activities are extensive. He is the lead faculty member on the MOU with a private university in India that addresses global issues such as food, water, energy and carbon. He was MSU’s lead faculty member to host an internship program with Zhejiang University from 2008-2011, and he, along with other MSU faculty, helped the University of Costa Rica establish a new biosystems engineering curriculum that launched in 2016 and is now the second most sought after major in the university by incoming freshmen.

“To me, international education is not just about exchanging knowledge, but about creating opportunities for students and scholars to experience different cultures, perspectives and problem-solving approaches,” said Liao. “Through these interactions, we prepare the next generation to think globally and work collaboratively on complex issues such as energy, water and sustainability.”

Liao is also one of the key members to assist the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in establishing a college-wide dual-degree program with a top agricultural university in China.

His contributions to international scholarship are hard to capture as his influence is vast as he’s collaborated with scholars from Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Germany, India, Italy, Pakistan and Turkey and has been invited to present in countries around the world. Liao currently leads the ecological engineering study abroad program in Costa Rica, which provides students additional opportunities to appreciate different cultures and perspectives on ecological and environmental challenges.

“This award is particularly meaningful to me because it recognizes something that has been central to my work for many years, building connections across borders to address shared challenges,” Liao said.

“The Ralph Smuckler Award reflects a different dimension in my career, the societal, educational and collaborative impact of my work. This award motivates me to continue expanding these global partnerships and to create even more opportunities for students to engage internationally.”