As our nation looks to plants to satisfy its growing energy demands, University of Georgia scholars are searching for answers to both long-term and near-term questions associated with bioenergy production. UGA’s Bioenergy Systems Research Institute unites the university’s legacies in agriculture, forestry, environmental science, engineering and economics with its strengths in carbohydrate science, genetics and microbiology to provide the scientific and practical foundation to support an economic and sustainable bioenergy future.

Goal: Facilitate collaborations among a broad spectrum of bioenergy research efforts by providing UGA faculty and other interested stakeholders with a venue for discussing their research, outreach and instructional interests.

• Register (registration fee includes lunch, reception and dinner)
• Poster Abstract Instructions and Template (due March 20, 2012)

Program

Monday, April 9

8:00 – 8:45       Registration and Poster Set-up (Registration Desk, Hill Atrium)

8:45 – 8:50       Welcome from UGA: David Lee, Vice President for Research, University of Georgia

8:50 – 8:55       Welcome from BSRI: Robert Scott, Interim Director, BSRI, and Associate Vice President for Research, University of Georgia

8:55 – 9:00       Introduction: Ryan Adolphson, Associate Director, BSRI

9:00 – 10:00     Keynote Address:

• David Bransby, Alumni Professor of Agronomy and Soils, Auburn University
  Bioenergy in the Unites States:  History, Trends and Future Prospects for Research

Dr. Bransby is a world expert on energy and fiber crops. Dr. Bransby is a Fellow of the America Society of Agronomy, and serves on the Boards of Directors for the Southern Alliance for the Utilization of Biomass Resources, the New Uses Council and the Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops.

10:00 – 10:15    Break/Poster Viewing

10:15 – 11:45    Technical Presentations

Moderator: Scott Merkle, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia

• Katrien Devos, Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences, University of Georgia
  Creating the genetic and genomic foundations for improving switchgrass as a bioenergy crop
  
• Daniel Markewitz, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
  High-Density Pine Plantings for Bioenergy Feedstock Production
  
• Maud Hinchee, Chief Technology Officer, Arborgen Inc.
  Purpose Grown Trees to Address Emerging Renewable Energy Markets
  
• Andrew Paterson, Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory, Depts of Genetics, Crop & Soil Sciences, and Botany, University of Georgia
  Accelerating the domestication and/or improvement of dedicated Saccharinae biomass crops
  
• Jason Evans, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia
  A ‘wicked’ endeavor: Values, choices, and uncertainty in life cycle accounting for advanced biofuel systems

11:45 – 12:55     Lunch (Room K/L)

1:00 – 2:15       Technical Presentations

Moderator: Ian Hardin, Dept. of Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors, University of Georgia

• Valentin Soloiu, Dept. of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Georgia Southern University
  Biofuels, a Commodity for National or State Stage? How Good They Really  Are?
  
• James Kastner, Dept. of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of Georgia
  Hemicellulose Hydrolysis Using Solid Acid Catalysts Generated from Biochar
  
• Joy Doran Peterson, Dept. of Microbiology, University of Georgia
  Yeast and Bacterial Biotechnology for Biofuels Production from very Different Biomass Types
  
• Yajun Yan, Faculty of Engineering, University of Georgia
  Expanding Natural Metabolism for Biofuel Generation

2:15 – 3:30       Break/Poster Viewing

3:30 – 5:30       Strategic Planning Session (Room F/G Georgia Center)

Moderator:  Mark A. Eiteman, Dept. of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of Georgia

Perspectives on and Opportunities for BioEnergy Systems Programs at the University of Georgia

• Jeff Dean, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, UGA
• Michael Wetzstein, Agricultural and Applied Economics, UGA
• Dan Geller, Faculty of Engineering, UGA
• Will York, Complex Carbohydrate Center, UGA

5:30 – 6:30       Reception (Hill Atrium)

6:30 – 8:00       Banquet and Poster Awards (Magnolia Ballroom)

• Carl Wolf, LanzaTech, Inc. 

Previous Retreat