Yiming Liu Attends the 12th International Conference on Industrial Ecology
Research has shown that when institutions of higher education promote international academic conference attendance, student and faculty attendees have the increased opportunity to build strong professional networks, enhance research visibility, spark a global research exchange, and more. Yiming Liu, a Ph.D. Candidate in the Purdue School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering (SEE) attended the 12th International Conference on Industrial Ecology (ISIE 2025).
The ISIE 2025 theme was “interconnectivity – recognizing mutual dependencies. This can be between industry, society, governance and the environment, the different scales of human settlements, and, of course, the circular material and political relations that are core to the world view of industrial ecology. During the Singapore ISIE 2025 conference, we will acknowledge and promote our connectedness and discuss the challenges the world is facing. We will explore the changes that are necessary to remain within planetary boundaries, and the solutions that could be employed in a technical, behavioral, and organizational sense to meet these challenges.”
Yiming Liu attended the conference with Dr. Hua Cai, a Purdue University Thomas and Jane Schmidt Rising Star Associate Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, and Associate Professor of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering.
Yiming presented a project titled “From Routine to Risk: Integrating Unintentional Substance Releases into Life Cycle Assessment.”
Yiming Liu’s research focuses on the environmental implications of the energy industry, industrial ecology, risk and resilience, and sustainability. Yiming is currently working on integrating risk assessment (RA) into the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework. Prior to joining Purdue, Yiming earned an M.S. in Environmental Sciences from Peking University and a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Beijing University of Chemical Technology.
Yiming highlighted his three key takeaways from ISIE 2025, citing
- “The environmental impacts caused by accidental substance releases are significant in product life cycle, especially for ecosystems and human health.
- The life cycle impacts of spill response actions can exceed those of the spills themselves.
- Small spills occur far more frequently than large ones, and collectively they result in the highest overall impacts to product life cycle.”
“I am passionate about leveraging data science to drive sustainability and create impactful solutions. With expertise in data analysis, applied AI, and life cycle assessment, I specialize in uncovering insights that contribute to a more sustainable future,” said Yiming.
Yiming shared that he is very grateful to SEE for supporting his Ph.D. journey, and he considers Dr. Hua Cai a remarkable SEE mentor. Yiming will graduate in Summer 2026.
“SEE provides a broad platform to shape our career development and research interests. The program offers flexible course selection and interdisciplinary faculty expertise across sustainability, environmental engineering, and science. This environment has allowed me to pursue projects I’m passionate about and to make meaningful impacts.”
For more information about Purdue’s School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering, please visit: https://engineering.purdue.edu/SEE.