He is the Parsons Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles,[1][2] and is the co-founder and lead scientific advisor of Easel Biotechnologies, LLC.

Liao has been recognized for the biosynthesis and production of higher alcohols such as isobutanol from sugars, cellulose, waste protein, or carbon dioxide.

in 1980, Liao earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1987 under the guidance of chemical engineer Edwin N. Lightfoot, co-author of Transport Phenomena.

[8] A new bioreactor could store electricity as liquid fuel with the help of a genetically engineered microbes and carbon dioxide.

The Liao laboratory has developed a pathway, called Non-oxidative glycolysis (NOG), that allows 100% carbon conservation in various fermentation processes.