CONFERENCE AGENDA

TUESDAY MARCH 10, 2009

4:00 – 6:00 pm Registration

6:00 – 9:00 pm Welcome Reception, L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, Solarium

8:30  - 9:30 pm  Display and poster set-up, L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, Solarium

                           (Solarium also open Wednesday for display/poster set-up)

WEDNESDAY MARCH 11, 2009

Wednesday AM Session Host - Northeast Sun Grant

7:30-8:30 am  Breakfast, L’Enfant Plaza Hotel Ballroom C&D

8:30 am – Welcome – Larry Walker, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Director, Northeast Sun Grant Institute of Excellence, Cornell University

8:40 am – Meet the Sun Grant Association and Center Directors

Kevin Kephart, Ph.D., Sun Grant Association Chair, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, South Dakota State University

Terry Nipp, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Sun Grant Association

James Doolittle, Ph.D. Director, North Central Sun Grant Center, Professor, Plant Science Department, South Dakota State University

Clarence Watson,Ph.D. Associate Director of the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, Director South Central Sun Grant Center, and Ray Huhnke, Ph.D., Professor, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Associate Director of the Sun Grant Initiative – South Central Region Sun Grant Center, Oklahoma State University

Thayne Dutson, Ph.D., Director of the Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station, Director, Western Sun Grant Center, and Jan Auyong, Associate Director Western Sun Grant Center, Oregon State University

Thomas Klindt, Ph.D., Associate Dean, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Director Southeast Sun Grant Center, and Timothy Rials, Ph.D., Professor, Director of the Tennessee Forest Products Center, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, Associate Director, Southeast Sun Grant Center

Larry Walker, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Director of the Northeast Sun Grant Institute of Excellence, and Corinne Rutzke, Ph.D., Executive Director, Northeast Sun Grant Institute of Excellence

9:00 am – Opening Plenary Session- Moderator, Larry Walker

9:00 am      M.J. Fiocco,  DOT Sun Grant Program Manager, Office of Research, Development & Technology, Research & Innovative Technology Administration, US Department of Transportation

9:15 am     John Ferrell, Feedstock Platform Manager, Office of Biomass Program, US Department of Energy

9:30 am     Carmela Bailey, National Program Leader, Agricultural Materials, US Dept. of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES)

9:45 – 10 am Panel Members, Questions and Discussion

10:00 am – Break

10:15 am – Plenary: Hot Topics and New Frontiers in Biofuels, Moderator, Larry Walker

10:15 am   Nathanael Greene, Senior Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Defense Council, Biofuel feedstock production impacts on Indirect Land Use

10:45 am   Bryce Stokes, Ph.D., Senior Advisor, Navarro Research & Engineering Inc., U.S. DOE Golden Field Office, Forest Biomass – The Land of Opportunity

11:15 am   Matt Carr, Ph.D., Director, Policy, Industrial and Environmental Section, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Economic Development Potential of Advanced Biofuels Production

11:45 am    Panel Members, Questions and Discussion

Wednesday Lunch Session Host – Sun Grant Association, Terry Nipp, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Sun Grant Association

12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch Program, Kyle Althoff, Director of Feedstock Development, Dupont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol

1:00 – 2:45  pm Concurrent Breakout Sessions: L’Enfant Plaza Hotel

PLANT FEEDSTOCK DEVELOPMENT I- Quorum Room (Concurrent session 1) Moderator, Jan Auyong, Ph.D., Associate Director, Sun Grant Western Regional Center, Oregon State University

1:00 pm David Dowler, Sr. Extension Educator, Farm Business Mgmt Penn State Cooperative Extension Crawford County, Camelina:  A New Oilseed Biodiesel Feedstock For Permanent No-Till Systems In The Northeast

1:25 pm Patrick Brown, Ph.D., Postdoc, Plant Breeding, Cornell University Hybrid Energy Sorghums for the Northeast

1:50 pm Yanqi Wu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State University Breeding switchgrass for bioenergy feedstock production

2:15 pm Timothy Volk, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Syracuse New York. State University of New York, College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, Developing Willow biomass crops for bioenergy and bioproducts in the Northeastern and Midwestern US,

ENZYMATIC CONVERSION AND PROSPECTING- Degas Room (Concurrent session 2) Moderator, Thayne Dutson, Ph.D., Director of the Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station, Director, Western Sun Grant Center

1:00 pm Juan L. Jurat-Fuentes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Identification of novel cellulases from insects

1:25 pm Gary Bergstrom, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Plant Pathology & Plant Molecular Biology, Cornell University Plant pathogens of biofuel feedstock crops as a source of useful enzymes for lignocellulosic conversion

1:50 pm Subramanian Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Florida A&M University Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Pulp dissolved in N methyl Morpholine Oxide (NMMO)

2:15 pm Jingxin Wang, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Forestry and Wood Science, West Virginia University Enzymatic hydrolysis of ultrasonicated yellow poplar residues for ethanol production

MICROBIAL CONVERSION and BIOFUELS BIOTECHNOLOGY-Renoir Room (Concurrent session 3) Moderator, Timothy Rials, Ph.D., Professor, Director of the Tennessee Forest Products Center, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, Associate Director, Southeast Sun Grant Center

1:00 pm Zhongtang Yu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University Characterization of thermophilic cellulolytic microbes and metagenomics for development of a temperature-phased anaerobic digestion process for enhanced conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks

1:25 pm James Holden, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst Microbial degradation of cellulose and hydrogen gas production above 80 degrees C

1:50 pm Joseph Bozell, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Tennessee Forest Products Center, Chemical Transformation of Biochemical Intermediates: Converting Biorefinery Sugars to New Polymers and Chemicals

2:15 pm Patrick Schloss, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Biotechnology Prospects from Metagenomics

BIOFUEL SYSTEMS INTERACTIONS – Caucus Room (Concurrent session 4) Moderator, Sam Jackson, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station,  Office of Bioenergy Programs, Southeast Sun Grant Center

1:00 pm Satish Joshi, Ph.D., Associate Professor,. Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University,  Distributed bioprocessing using regional biomass pre-processing centers

1:25 pm David Babson, Ph.D. Candidate, Engineering, Rutgers University System-wide Energy and Carbon Balances for a Sustainable Waste-to-Energy Infrastructure

1:50 pm Anthony Halog, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Industrial Ecology and Life Cycle Assessment in the School of Forest Resources, the University of Maine, A Streamlined Life Cycle Analysis of Forest-based Bio-ethanol

2:15 pm Panel question and Discussion

ADVANCES IN BIODIESEL, BIOHYDROGEN and BIOBUTANOL RESEARCH – Lafayette Room (Concurrent session 5) Moderator, Thomas Klindt, Ph.D., Associate Dean, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Director Southeast Sun Grant Center

1:00 pm Jianzhong Sun, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor of Entomology. Mississippi State University-Coastal Research and Extension Center, A novel source and mechanism of biohydrogen converted from lignocellulose by wood-feeding termites

1:25 pm Daniel Haworth, Ph.D., Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director, Vehicle Systems & Safety Program, Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, The Pennsylvania State University Determination of the Underlying Cause of the Biodiesel NOx Effect in Common-Rail Diesel Engines

1:50 pm Thaddeus Ezeji, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University Development of biocatalyst for biobutanol production and recovery by gas stripping

2:15 pm Dorin Boldor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Louisiana State University Advanced Technologies for Biodiesel Production

2:45 – 3:00 pm Break

Wednesday PM Plenary Session Host- North Central Region

3:00 – 5:00 pm Plenary Session: THE REGIONAL BIOMASS FEEDSTOCK PARTNERSHIP Ballroom C&D, Moderator, James Doolittle, Ph.D. Director, North Central Sun Grant Center, Professor, Plant Science Department, South Dakota State University

3:00 pm  James Doolittle, Ph.D. Director, North Central Sun Grant Center, Professor, Plant Science Department, South Dakota State University, An overview of the Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership program

3:15 pm  Peter Woodbury, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University Approaches for Quantifying Bioenergy Feedstock Production Potential and Environmental Impacts in the Northeast Sun Grant Region

3:30 pm Vance Owens, Ph.D., Professor, Plant Science Department, South Dakota State University, The Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership: Herbaceous Energy Crops and CRP Land for Biomass Production Across Environmental Gradients

3:45 pm William Berguson, Director of the Forestry Program within the Forestry/Forest Products Division of the Center for Applied Research and Technology Development, University of Minnesota Duluth, Woody Energy Crops Teamwork within Feedstock Partnership

4:00 pm Douglas Karlen, Ph.D., USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Soil Tilth Laboratory, Ames, IA, The REAP/Regional Partnership Corn Stover Trials

4:15 pm Russ Karow, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Crop and Soil Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University, National Cereal Crops Residue Trials Update

4:30 pm Panel Questions and Discussion

Wednesday evening Host- Western Region

6:00 pm   Dinner program, L’Enfant Plaza Hotel Ballrooms A&B, Speaker: Kevin Kephart, Ph.D., Sun Grant Association Chair, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, South Dakota State University, The Sun Grant Initiative – A new day for Agriculture

THURSDAY MARCH 12, 2009

Thursday AM Session Host – South Central Region

7:30 - 8:30 am  Breakfast

8:30 – 8:35 am Day Two Welcome – Clarence Watson, Ph.D. Associate Director of the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, Director South Central Sun Grant Center, Oklahoma State University

8:35 am – Opening Plenary Session Theme: Thermochemical Conversion, Moderator, Ray Huhnke, Ph.D., Professor, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Associate Director of the Sun Grant Initiative – South Central Region Sun Grant Center, Oklahoma State University

    8:40 am Robert Brown, Ph.D., Professor, Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering and Chemical Engineering, and Chair of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Thermochemical Pathways to Biofuels

    9:00 am Randy Lewis, Ph.D., Professor of Chemical Engineering,  Brigham Young University, Syngas Fermentation to Ethanol: A General Review

    9:20 am  A.A. (Kwesi) Boateng, Ph.D., Lead Scientist, Research Chemical Engineer Agricultural Research Service, USDA, To Burn or Not to Burn: Distributed Pyrolysis to Refinable Crude Bio-oil and Soil-Amending, Carbon Sequestering Biochar

     9:40 am Panel Questions and Discussion

10 -10:15 am – Break

Thursday Midday Sessions Host – Western Region

10:15 am – 12:00 pm Concurrent Sessions

PLANT FEEDSTOCK DEVELOPMENT II  (Concurrent session 1, Degas Room) , Moderator, Timothy Rials, Ph.D., Professor, Director of the Tennessee Forest Products Center, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, Associate Director, Southeast Sun Grant Center

10:15 am  Christopher Daly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University, Using map server technology and environmental datasets for feedstock development and assessment

10:40 am John Cushman, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Nevada, Exploring the use of halophytic green algae for carbon recycling and biofuel production

11:05 am Eric Lam, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Plant Biology & Pathology, Biotechnology Center, Rutgers University, Making more fermentable feedstocks (Smart Plants) via genetic engineering

11:30 am Russell Karow, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Crop and Soil Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University Western Regional Sun Grant Camelina Project Update

UNIVERSITY BIOMASS ENERGY CURRICULUM WORKSHOP (Concurrent Session 2, Caucus Room) Coordinator and Moderator, DoKyoung "D.K." Lee, 10:15 am – 12:00 pm

DoKyoung "D.K." Lee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Training the workforce for the Emerging Bioenergy Industry

Robert Brown, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering, and D. Raj Raman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering and Chemical Engineering, , Iowa State University,  Eight years of Graduate Programming in Biorenewables ­ Opportunities and Challenges

Gopal Kakani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Bioenergy Crop Production, Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State University,  Bioenergy Feedstock Production Course

Questions and Discussion session

SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP: SORTING THROUGH THE BIOPHYSICAL AND SOCIAL DEFINITIONS (Concurrent Session 3), Quorum Room, Co-Moderators, Peter Woodbury Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University and Corinne Rutzke, Ph.D., Executive Director, Northeast Sun Grant Institute of Excellence –

Open discussion format – Priorities for research

BIOTECHNOLOGY, BIOSYNTHESIS AND BIOCONVERSION (Concurrent Session 4), Moderator, Jan Auyong, Associate Director Western Sun Grant Center, Oregon State University, Renoir Room

10:15 am Christine Kelly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Chemical, Biological, & Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Biosynthesis and application of manganese peroxidase in the bioconversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks

10:40 am Joshua Yuan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology Texas A&M University, Comparative and functional genomics analysis of lignin bio-synthesis genes for functional relevance

11:05 am Erik Coats, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho Bioconversion of crude glycerol and dairy manure to bioplastic, and its use in natural fiber-thermoplastic composites

11:30 am Yebo Li, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University Concurrent wet storage and microbial pretreatment of Corn Stover for Ethanol Production

ECONOMICS AND POLICY ISSUES (Concurrent Session 5), Moderator, Margaret Brennan-Tonetta Associate Director, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, (Lafayette Room)

10:15 am Timothy M. Young, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor in the Forest Products Center, University of Tennessee, A real-time, web-based optimal Biomass Site Assessment Tool (BioSAT) - Module 1. An Economic Assessment of Mill and Logging Residues

10:45 am Antonio Bento, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University Efficiency Impacts of Increased U.S. Biofuels Mandates

11:15 am Kathleen Painter, Ph.D., Agricultural Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, University of Idaho, Evaluating Policy Alternatives to Encourage Biofuel Production in the State of Washington

11:45 am Panel Questions & Discussion

12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch Program Introduction, Thayne Dutson, Ph.D., Director of the Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station, Director, Western Sun Grant Center  Lunch program speaker: Sam Jackson, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station,  Office of Bioenergy Programs, Southeast Sun Grant Center, University of Tennessee, BioWeb: Science-based Information Delivery

1:00 – 3:15 pm POSTERS and DESSERT SESSION (L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, Solarium)

3:15 – 3:30 pm Break

Final Plenary Session Host – Southeast Region

3:30 pm – 5 pm Plenary Session, Ballroom C&D

Introduction, Thomas Klindt, Ph.D., Associate Dean, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Director Southeast Sun Grant Center

3:35 - 5 pm Plenary Theme: Focus on Biofuels, Pipelines and Rural Roads Logistics and infrastructure: An invitation to help continue the journey.

Session organizer and moderator, M.J. Fiocco,  DOT Sun Grant Program Manager, Office of Research, Development & Technology, Research & Innovative Technology Administration, US Department of Transportation

Robert Smith, Pipeline Safety Research & Development Manager, Pipeline &  Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, US Department of Transportation

Elizabeth Alicandri, Director, Office of Safety Programs, Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation

Closing remarks, Thomas Klindt, Ph.D., Associate Dean, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Director Southeast Sun Grant Center

6 pm   Thursday evening reception – Kickoff to BioEnergy Education on the Hill Mini-course (L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, Solarium)

                Thursday Dinner on your own

FRIDAY MARCH 13, 2009

The Sun Grant Initiative  “Briefing on Regional Cellulosic Bio-energy”

   (Cannon House Office Bldg Caucus Room)

9:00 am  Welcome and introductions, Session moderators:

Kevin Kephart, Ph.D., Sun Grant Association Chair, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, South Dakota State University , and Terry Nipp, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Sun Grant Association

9:10 am  Welcoming Remarks (invited)

9:30 am   Regional Cellulosic Feedstocks,  Vance Owens, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Plant Science Department, South Dakota State University, The Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership: Herbaceous Energy Crops and CRP Land for Biomass Production Across Environmental Gradients

10:00 am Logistics of Feedstock Delivery and Preparation, Richard Hess, Ph.D., Bioenergy Manager, Idaho National Lab

10:30 am  Poster session Break and refreshments

10:45 am Cellulosic Energy Conversion Processes, Larry Walker, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Director of the Northeast Sun Grant Institute of Excellence, Cornell University

11:15 am Sustainability and Environmental Issues, Peter Woodbury, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University

11:45 am Closing remarks – Kevin Kephart and Terry Nipp

12:00 pm  Adjorn