Wallace's Farmer, IA
10-26-07
ISU to Present National Conference on Bioeconomy
Compiled By Staff
Iowa State University will host a national conference on growing the bioeconomy
next month in Ames. The two-day conference includes sessions on plant
sciences, feedstock production, conversion of biomass into fuels and products,
bioproducts use and energy efficiency, conservation and sustainability, and
economics and policy.
Bioeconomy advances will be in the spotlight as researchers and renewable
energy experts from around the globe convene at Iowa State University's 2007
Biobased Industry Outlook Conference, "Growing the Bioeconomy," Nov. 5-6.
The two-day conference includes sessions on plant sciences, feedstock
production, conversion of biomass into fuels and products, bioproducts use and
energy efficiency, conservation and sustainability, and economics and policy. It is
attracting industry and community leaders, academicians and government
leaders from around the nation.
More states developing energy sources
Martin Keller, director of the recently established U.S. Department of Energy's
BioEnergy Science Center at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee,
will speak about plants and microbes of bioenergy. This session is part of the
Plant Sciences track sponsored by the Plant Sciences Institute of ISU.
"More states such as Iowa and Tennessee are pursuing the possibility of energy
sources in their own backyards," says Keller. "At our center we are exploring
nature's potential to deliver sustainable, renewable transportation fuels."
Keller is leading the Center's efforts to improve dedicated biomass crops and
create new methods of processing plants into biofuel. Primary research goals
include modifying plant cell walls to reduce their resistance to breakdown, with a
focus on the poplar tree and switchgrass, a native grass easily grown in much of
the United States.
ISU's annual Biobased Industry Outlook Conference has established a reputation
for being one of the nation's leading events for the sharing of information about
manufacturing, distributing and marketing biobased products. The conference is
sponsored by ISU Extension, ISU Office of Biorenewables Programs and the
ISU Plant Sciences Institute and many affiliated businesses and organizations.
Information about the conference agenda, speakers and registration is available
at www.bioeconomyconference.org.