RBI 2016 Annual Executive Conference Program

2016 ANNUAL EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE

REIMAGINING BIOPRODUCTS INDUSTRIES

The strongest and clearest way to move toward the future is to have a good sense of your past. You cannot have a very tall tree without deep roots.

—Cesar Pelli

About the Renewable Bioproducts Institute

Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute delivers innovation in converting biomass into value-added products, developing advanced chemical and bio-based refining technologies, and advancing excellence in manufacturing processes. We bring sophisticated resources and multi-disciplinary expertise to partners with renewable materials and product development needs in order to create innovative product and process solutions.

RBI was created from a predecessor institute with a rich history — 87 years of forest products research excellence — and features a unique, $44 million endowment that supports both students and faculty pursuing revolutionary paths in renewable bioproducts. We seek advanced options for processing a broad range of biomass resources into new and innovative materials and products for the emerging bioeconomy.

Vision

We will be the premier institute for advanced and translational research in the area of renewables by creating an interdisciplinary engine for value-added bioproducts, biochemical and bioprocesses in the market.

Mission

The mission of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute is to advance both science and engineering for the biorefining of forest and agricultural biomass by creating new bioproducts and biochemicals, while enhancing the value of existing renewable products and significantly reducing the cost and resource requirements of those products and processes.

Questions? Please contact:

Lavon Harper • Administrative Office of the Executive Director • 404.894.9550 lavon.harper@rbi.gatech.edu Kelly B. Smith • Marketing and Communication • 404.894.6700 kelly.smith@gatech.edu

Strategic Focus

The Renewable Bioproducts Institute will leverage the full capabilities of Georgia Tech in the service of companies looking for opportunities in the areas of renewable chemicals, new bio-based feedstocks, renewable and biodegradable plastics, advanced biofuels, and bio-based materials and composites.

REIMAGINING BIOPRODUCTS INDUSTRIES

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016 Welcome to RBI 2

Conference Agenda 4

Your Georgia Tech 6

Our Member Companies 8

Our Speakers 10

Our Conference Participants 18 Our Students 22

Getting Around 24

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WELCOME TO OUR 2016 ANNUAL EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE

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Reimagining Bioproducts Industries: New Ideas — New Opportunities At the Renewable Bioproducts Institute, we have created an innovation ecosystem that brings together academia, research, government and industry to enable companies to meet new challenges and seize new opportunities. Our Executive Conference provides a forum for those minds to meet — right here on Georgia Tech’s campus — for two days of discourse and dialogue regarding the issues and opportunities in the world of bioproducts.

Just as the world of bioproducts and bioprocessing research is undergoing an evolution, we, too, are evolving at RBI — building upon the rich history of the Institute of Paper Science and Technology while imagining the bioproducts industry of the future.

We want to advance that conversation. Experts will engage you and your colleagues in three concurrent tracks: Operational Excellence in Advanced Pulping, Paper & Packaging; the Future of Biocomposites and Nanocellulose; and New Opportunities in Biochemicals. We have outstanding speakers from leading institutions and companies around the country, as well as some of the brightest young minds in research today.

Which brings me to one of my favorite parts of this conference — the introduction of our Ph.D. Fellows. Funded by RBI’s unique $44 million endowment, these talented students will be giving us all a look at future opportunities. They’re here to share their work in a number of areas of interest to our industries during the popular poster competition.

We hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity to tell us how our work can be relevant to your company’s goals — now and in the future.

We’re proud to present our premier researchers, who have assembled here to offer you a conference we hope will pique your imagination. We’re especially pleased to have you join us.

Norman F. Marsolan Executive Director Renewable Bioproducts Institute

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

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Agenda Tuesday, April 5, 2016 7:15 - 7:45 a.m.

7:45 - 8:15 a.m.

8:15 - 9:15 a.m.

9:15 a.m.

Track

9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

10:30 - 11:00 a.m.

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Track

1:00 - 1:40 p.m.

1:40 - 2:05 p.m.

2:05 - 2:30 p.m.

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2:30 - 3:00 p.m.

3:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Continental Breakfast • 1st Floor Foyer

Session 1: Day 1 Opening Plenary (7:45 - 9:15 a.m.) Auditorium • 1st Floor Welcome and Meeting Overview • Conference Moderator Norman F. Marsolan • Executive Director, Renewable Bioproducts Institute Keynote Address • Gregg Beckham • National Renewable Energy Laboratory • Developments Toward the Integrated Biorefinery at NREL Break Session 2: (9:30 - 11:00 a.m.) Session Rooms Operational Excellence The Future of Biocomposites New Opportunities in Biochemicals in Advanced Pulping, Paper and Packaging and Nanocellulose Moderator: Chris Luettgen Moderator: Meisha Shofner Moderator: Matthew Realff Room 218 • Lobby Level • 2nd Floor Room 114 • 1st Floor Room 521 • 5th Floor Jon Rager, RISI Soydan Ozcan, ORNL Art Ragauskas, ORNL, UT-Knoxville Track Keynote Track Keynote Track Keynote Global Industry Outlook: Challenges and Opportunities Physiochemical Characterization A Platform for Innovation? for Nano-Cellulose for and Utilization of Lignin Innovative Composite-Based Applications from a Biorefinery Track Overview: Chris Luettgen Track Overview: Meisha Shofner Track Overview: Matthew Realff Lunch and Networking • Member’s Lounge • 1st Floor Poster Session Part I • You will have another opportunity during this evening’s reception to browse the posters on display and converse with the presenters.

Session 3: (1:00 - 3:00 p.m.) Session Rooms Operational Excellence The Future of Biocomposites New Opportunities in Biochemicals in Advanced Pulping, Paper and Packaging and Nanocellulose Moderator: Chris Luettgen Moderator: Meisha Shofner Moderator: Matthew Realff Room 218 • Lobby Level • 2nd Floor Room 114 • 1st Floor Room 521 • 5th Floor Chris Muhlstein Paul Russo Gregg Beckham Digital Image Correlation Insights Biopolymers as Organizers Lignin Valorization into Paper Deformation and Failure

by Biological Funneling and Chemical Catalysis Mark Losego Clive Liu Hannah Akinosho (Advisor: Satish Kumar) (Advisor: Art Ragauskas) Developing Cellulose Hydrophobicity Lignin-Polyacrylonitrile Blend Carbon Fiber: Lignin S/G Ratio and and Other Functional Properties in Paper A Step Toward Green Manufacturing its Implications for Biofuel Preet Singh Vincent Li Allison Tolbert With Ph.D. candidates Aydin Baykal (Advisors: Yulin Deng and Jerry Qi) (Advisor: Art Ragauskas) and Liang He 3D Printed Nanocellulosic Materials Insight into Populus Surface Chemistry Changes Corrosion Sciences and their Composites after C. bescii Growth via ToF-SIMS Discussion Discussion Discussion Break

Agenda Tuesday, April 5, 2016 (Continued)

Session 4: Track Wrap and Plenary Session (3:30 - 5:30 p.m.) Session Rooms and Auditorium • 1st Floor 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

4:30 - 5:00 p.m.

5:00 - 5:30 p.m.

5:30 - 5:45 p.m.

5:45 - 7:00 p.m.

7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Track: Interactive Discussion Track: Interactive Discussion Track: Interactive Discussion Room 218 • Lobby Level • 2nd Floor Room 114 • 1st Floor Room 521 • 5th Floor Track Discussions Report-Out (10 minutes per group) • Auditorium • 1st Floor Flash Reports (15 minutes each) • Auditorium • 1st Floor • Norman F. Marsolan, Moderator • David Turpin, Agenda 2020 • Chris Luettgen, RBI Break Poster Session Part II and Networking • Member’s Lounge • 1st Floor Dinner and Featured Speaker (7:00 - 8:30 p.m.) Member’s Lounge and Dining Room • 1st Floor Dinner/Presentation • Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change • James Dallas • President, J. Dallas & Associates in conversation with Kathleen Bennett • Bennett Consulting, LLC

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

7:15 - 7:45 a.m.

Breakfast • Auditorium Foyer • 1st Floor

7:45 - 8:00 a.m.

8:00 - 8:45 a.m.

8:45 - 9:00 a.m.

Recap and Day 2 Kickoff • Norman F. Marsolan, Moderator Dr. Steve Cross • Executive Vice President Research, Georgia Tech • Georgia Tech’s Innovation Ecosystem and Benefits for Company/University Collaborations Break Session 6: (9:00 - 10:30 a.m) • Session Rooms Moderator: Chris Luettgen Moderator: Meisha Shofner Moderator: Matthew Realff Room 218 • Lobby Level • 2nd Floor Room 114 • 1st Floor Room 521 • 5th Floor Krista Walton John Reynolds Pamela Peralta-Yahya Carbide-Derived Carbons Redox-Active Polymers for GPCR-Based Sensors for Removal of Toxic Chemicals from Air Electrochromism and Charge Storage: to Accelerate the Engineering Towards Cellulose-Based Substances of Chemical-Producing Microbes Cyrus Aidun CNF Users Panel • Moderator: Robert Moon Andreas Bommarius Multi-Scale Computational Modeling to Jim Bradbury • Verso Corporation Chemical and Enzymatic Routes Advance Understanding Papermaking Processes Sean Ireland • IMERYS for the Valorization of Lignocellulose Nagi Gebraeel Sandeep Kulkarni • PepsiCo Yulin Deng IoT and the Interface of Kim Kurtis • GT Approaches for Hydrogen Condition Monitoring, Reliability and Maintenance Soydan Ozcan • ORNL and Vanillin Production from Lignin Break Session 7: Final Plenary (11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) Auditorium • 1st Floor RBI Research Portfolio Norman F. Marsolan • Executive Director, RBI • Value Created by RBI’s Unique Endowment Don McConnell • Vice President, Office of Industry Collaboration • GT: The Power of the GT Research Engine and New IP Instruments Naresh Thadhani • Professor and Chair • MSE/GT and Sankar Nair • Professor, Associate Chair • Industry Outreach • ChBE/GT: The Value for Companies Through Georgia Tech Research Capabilities Lunch • Plenary Session Dining Room • 1st Floor Adjourn

Track 9:00 - 9:30 a.m.

9:30 - 10:00 a.m.

10:00 - 10:30 a.m.

10:30 - 11:00 a.m.

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

Session 5: Day 2 Opening Plenary (7:45 - 8:45 a.m.) Auditorium • 1st Floor

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GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the country’s preeminent research universities with more than 100 centers focused on interdisciplinary research that consistently contribute vital research and innovation to our partners in industry, government and business.

Dreaming Big

Our team works to map out new solutions and work hand-in-hand with our partners to create the next big breakthrough or tailor collaborations focused on solving their toughest challenges. Through an innovation ecosystem that brings together education, research, government, and industry in unique ways, researchers and students from various units across campus are creating transformative opportunities and strengthening collaborative partnerships, internally and externally, to maximize the impact of their research.

A Solution for You

We understand each business is unique. Knowing that, Georgia Tech can tailor a corporate partnership to meet your specific needs and expectations. Collaborating with a research university has never been easier. First, we listen. Then we focus on your short- and long-term goals. This allows us to connect your company with the right expertise and resources, from engaging top faculty and students and accessing research and development to tapping into a startup or establishing an innovation center.

Top Student Talent

Georgia Tech graduates are in high demand. As one of the world’s leading technological research universities, we immerse our students in the latest ideas and cutting-edge technology. Georgia Tech students are engaged in solving problems and creating opportunities with companies through sponsored research, internships, co-ops and more. You get solutions while students get real-world experience. In the process, you also make meaningful connections with top talent and the next generation of workforce-ready graduates.

Premier Facilities

For your company to remain competitive, you need insight into what’s next. Georgia Tech’s labs are on the front lines of scientific and technological progress. We can give you access to developments that will help your business thrive in ever evolving competitive global markets. Georgia Tech is home to world-class research, state-of-the-art facilities and internationally recognized experts tackling some of the world’s toughest problems. Let us connect you to the right resources to help your business create solutions and identify the technology that will shape your market and engage new customers.

At Georgia Tech, we pride ourselves on being trailblazers who drive real change in the real world.

Ultimately, we’re in the business of creating the next — the next idea, the next technology and the next legion of open, agile minds. Bound together with passion and skill, spurred by our imaginations and rolling up our sleeves to get it done, we focus on solving the grand challenges of our time.

Won’t you join us?

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GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

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We would like to extend a special thank you to our member companies. The advancement of our research, our programs and our students themselves is made possible by their involvement.

RBI membership options include full participation, directed research and consortium membership.

For more information, please contact RBI Executive Director Norman F. Marsolan at 404.894.2082 or norman.marsolan@rbi.gatech.edu.

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Cyrus K. Aidun

Our Speakers

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

Professor, ME • Georgia Tech 404.894.6645 • cyrus.aidun@me.gatech.edu

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Cyrus K. Aidun’s research focuses on direct numerical simulation (DNS) of suspension hydrodynamics, including fiber suspension, biotransport and whole blood flow. Additional research interests include methods for enhancement of convective and boiling heat transfer, multiscale biotransport and fluidics-based automation of sorting and selection of somatic embryogenesis for clonal propagation of plants. He has pioneered the development of the LatticeBoltzmann (LB) method for suspension hydrodynamics and nonlinear dynamical systems. It is now well established that the LB method, based on the solution of discrete Boltzmann equation, is a superior computational method for hard particles as well as transport of deformable capsules and particle. These methods open the possibility for mechanical, thermal and rheological analyses of a broad class of deformable particle/fiber suspension flows. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Ph.D. from Clarkson University.

Hannah Akinosho

Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry and Biochemistry • Georgia Tech 678.437.9632 • hakinosho@gatech.com Hannah Akinosho is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry and Biochemistry. She is studying organic chemistry with a minor in Paper Science and Engineering and is expected to complete her degree in May. Her core competencies include structural characterization (degree of polymerization, crystallinity, bond linkages, hydrophobicity, surface charge) of cellulosic polymers and/or polymeric derivatives; consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) with Clostridium thermocellum for ethanol production; and physical (viscoelasticity, particle size, color) and chemical assessment (oxidation) of emulsions and their stability. She received her bachelor’s degree in Food Science, cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 2008. Her honors and awards include Phi Tau Sigma Honor Society, Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Fellowship, Paper Science and Technology Fellowship and she was a recipient of a National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers travel grant.

Bedi Aydin Baykal

Ph.D. Candidate, MSE • Georgia Tech abaykal@gatech.edu Bedi Aydin Baykal is a PSE Fellow and Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Materials Science and Engineering. He is expected to complete his degree August 2017. His thesis topic is “Evaporator erosion-corrosion and mechanical effects.” His research interests also include corrosion in flow systems, flow regime effects on corrosion, repassivation, effects of slurry and caustic conditions on material loss, erosion corrosion and corrosive wear. He received his bachelor’s degree from Istanbul Technical University and his master’s degree from the University of Michigan, both in mechanical engineering.

Gregg T. Beckham

Researcher • National Renewable Energy Laboratory gregg.beckham@nrel.gov Gregg T. Beckham is a researcher at the National Bioenergy Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO. He currently works with an interdisciplinary research team of biologists, chemists and engineers on multiple aspects of biochemical and thermochemical conversion of biomass to fuels, chemicals and materials, including cellulase enzymes, pretreatment, sugar conversion to fuels and chemicals and lignin valorization.

Previously, he served as Senior Lecturer and Station Director for the David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice at MIT from 2004-2005 and again in 2007. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Oklahoma State University in 2002 and his Ph.D. and MSCEP in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2007.

Kathleen M. Bennett

Bennett Consulting, LLC 864.354.7228 • kathleen@bennettllc.net Kathleen M. Bennett, principal at Kathleen M. Bennett Consulting, LLC, offers extensive experience in the pulp and paper and forest products manufacturing industry with emphasis in strategy, government affairs, communications and business process development. Current clients include the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech and the forest industry’s Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance among others. In addition to strategy and communications, she has special expertise in integrating regulations and other

external expectations of industry operations with business and operational goals.

She formerly served in senior positions at Bowater Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Fort James Corporation and others and was a Senate-confirmed Presidential appointee to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She is a former president and chair of TAPPI and member of the TAPPI Foundation Board of Trustees.

Andreas S. “Andy” Bommarius

Professor, ChBE • Georgia Tech 404.385.1334 • andreas.bommarius@chbe.gatech.edu Andreas S. “Andy” Bommarius is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, as well as Chemistry and Biochemistry, at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his degree in Chemistry in 1984 at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and his Chemical Engineering bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees in 1982 and 1989 at MIT, Cambridge, MA. In industry at Evonik (then Degussa) from 1990-2000, he led the Laboratory of Enzyme Catalysis and worked on projects ranging from chiral pool syntheses and membrane reactors to use of enzymes in laundry and pulp and paper applications. His research interests cover green chemistry and biomolecular engineering, specifically biocatalyst development and protein stability studies. His lab applies data-driven protein engineering to improve protein properties on catalysts ranging from ene and nitro reductases to cellobiohydrolases. Bommarius has guided the repositioning of the curriculum towards Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering by developing new courses in Process Design, Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, as well as Drug Design, Development and Delivery (D4), an interdisciplinary course with Mark Prausnitz.

Jim Bradbury

Product Development Manager • Verso Technical Center jim.bradbury@versoco.com Jim Bradbury is a third-generation papermaker following his grandfather, who retired as Paper Mill Superintendent from Mead Corporation in Chillicothe, OH, and his father, who started his career as a forester for Macon Kraft in Macon, GA. He has worked for nearly 20 years as Senior and Principal Research Engineer and Manager of Pulping Research for Verso Corporation in the use and processing of chemical, mechanical and recycled fiber, coated paper and pulp product development and project management. At the beginning of 2015, he was appointed Product Development Manager at the Verso

Technical Center in Wisconsin Rapids. Jim received bachelor degrees in Pulp and Paper Science and Chemical Engineering in 1988 from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree in Wood and Paper Science focused on bleaching chemistry, also from NC State in 1991. He received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Paper Science & Technology in 1997, where his thesis investigated sizing reversion.

Stephen E. Cross

Executive Vice President for Research • Georgia Tech 404.894.8885 • cross@gatech.edu

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Stephen E. Cross is Georgia Tech’s Executive Vice President for Research, a professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and adjunct professor in the College of Computing and Ernest J. Scheller College of Business. He was Vice President-Director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 2003 to 2010. He also serves as President of the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, the Georgia Applied Research Corporation and the Georgia Technology Advanced Ventures. Previously, Cross was at Carnegie Mellon University as a research faculty member in computer science.

Earlier, he was Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and faculty member at the Air Force Institute of Technology. A retired military officer, he received the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Air Force Research Award. He received his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, his master’s degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

H. James Dallas

President • Dallas & Associates 612.850.0085 • jamesdallas@yahoo.com H. James Dallas, author of Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change: Inspire the People and Succeed Where Others Fail, is an accomplished senior executive and agent of change in large domestic and international corporate settings. He has successfully implemented more than 10 transformational and turnaround initiatives, 30-plus acquisition integrations and three innovation centers. Dallas retired in September 2013 as Senior Vice President of Quality, Operations and IT at Medtronic Inc., a global medical technology company, where he served as a member of Medtronic’s executive management team. Prior to joining Medtronic in 2006, Dallas was Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Georgia-Pacific Corporation, a global forest products company that employs more than 55,000 people at 300-plus locations in North America and Europe. He served as a member of Georgia Pacific’s executive management team. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and his MBA from Emory University.

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

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Yulin Deng

Our Speakers

Professor, ChBE • Georgia Tech 404.894.5759 • yulin.deng@rbi.gatech.edu Yulin Deng is a Professor with the School Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Areas of particular interest include nanomaterial synthesis of self-assembling; biofuel and biomass materials; sustainable energy, including fuel cell and solar cell; polymers; and papermaking and paper recycling.

Deng is an elected Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science, a member of AIChE and TAPPI. He has received several awards, including AIChE Forest Bioproducts Division Chase Award and IPST President Research Award.

He serves as editorial board member for five journals and associate editor for two journals. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Northeast Normal University, China, in 1982; his Ph.D. from Manchester University, UK, in 1992; and his PostDoctorate from McMaster University, Canada, in 1992.

Nagi Gebraeel

Georgia Power Associate Professor • ISYE • Georgia Tech 404.894.0054 • nagi.gebraeel@isye.gatech.edu Nagi Gebraeel is a Georgia Power Associate Professor in the Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. Gebraeel’s research interests are in equipment prognostics and diagnostics for improving reliability, maintainability and availability by leveraging degradationbased sensor data streams; and the integration of these results in subsequent maintenance, operational and logistical decision making. His specific focus is on tackling these problems in Big Data settings involving massive amounts of data streams and large equipment fleets. Gebraeel currently serves as an associate director at Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute with the responsibility of identifying and promoting research activities and thought leadership at the intersection of Data Science and Energy. He is also the director of the Analytics and Prognostics Systems laboratory at Georgia Tech’s Manufacturing Institute.

He is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) and The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He was the former president of the IIE’s Quality Control and Reliability Engineering Division. He received his master’s and Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1998 and 2003, respectively.

Liang He

Ph.D. Candidate, MSE • Georgia Tech lianghe@gatech.edu Liang He is a PSE Fellow and a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Materials Science and Engineering. She is expected to complete her degree May 2018. Her thesis topic is “Corrosion behavior of the new lean duplex stainless steels in paper machine.” She received her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering at Beihang University, Beijing, P.R. China.

Sean Ireland

Director, Global Business Development • IMERYS sean.ireland@imerys.com Sean Ireland is Director of Global Business Development, Imerys Fiberlean Division, where he directs, prioritizes and is responsible for all non-paper business development. Although he has extensive experience in electronics and process control systems, his interest spans physical and surface sciences, nano-scale technologies with a focus on cellulosic nanomaterials, fibers and nanoclays used in nano composite systems. Since 2009, he has been integral in working with multiple government agencies to obtain federal funding for critically needed nanocellulose research and development and a federal Nanocellulose Center. He has authored or co-authored several technical papers on non-linear systems and nanocellulose technology. He is a Board Member on the Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance and Co-Chair for the Agenda 2020 Nano Materials and Novel Products Task Force. He recently retired as the Chair for the TAPPI Nano Division,

Sandeep Kulkarni

Senior Principal Scientist • PepsiCo Global R&D sandeep.kulkarni@pepsico.com Since 2010, Sandeep Kulkarni has led the development of sustainable packaging solutions for beverage and food packaging at PepsiCo. Prior to PepsiCo, he spent 12-plus years in the paper and packaging industry working for several major paper and packaging companies, such as International Paper, Georgia Pacific and Neenah Paper. He led the development of new and innovative products that contributed more than $25 million to the bottom line across this span of companies. His work also resulted in seven granted U.S. patents and five patent applications in process. He received his Ph.D. in Polymer Physical Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Kimberly Kurtis

Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Scholarship Georgia Tech Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering 404.385.0825 • kim.kurtis@coe.gatech.edu Kim Kurtis manages the reappointment, promotion, tenure, peer review and selection processes for all faculty and researchers within the College of Engineering. In addition, she leads faculty development initiatives and assists with the management of faculty hiring strategies and inclusion programs. Prior to joining the Dean’s Office, she served as Associate Chair of Graduate Programs in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and was the College of Engineering ADVANCE Professor, a position that seeks to increase the participation of women in the scientific and engineering workforce. She joined Georgia Tech’s faculty in January 1999 after earning her Ph.D. and master’s in civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, under an NSF Graduate Fellowship and Henry Hilp Scholarship. She earned her bachelor’s degree (1994) in civil engineering from Tulane University. Her innovative research on the multi-scale structure and performance of cement-based materials has resulted in more than 100 technical publications and two U.S. patents.

Vincent Li

Ph.D. Candidate, ChBE • Georgia Tech vli6@gatech.edu Vincent Li is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and is a Paper Science and Engineering Fellow. He is expected to complete his studies in December 2018. His research focus is Operational Excellence, and his thesis topic is “High performance barrier coating packages from well-designed inkjet printing using cellulose nanocrystal-polymer composite.”

Lee received his bachelor’s of science degree in Chemical Engineering from University of California, San Diego in 2014.

Hsiang-Hao “Clive” Liu

Ph.D. Candidate, MSE • Georgia Tech 214.843.8010 • clive.h.liu@gmail.com Hsiang-Hao “Clive” Liu is a Ph.D. candidate in Materials and Science Engineering with a minor in Paper Science and Engineering. He is expected to complete his degree in May. His particular areas of interest

include biomaterials and carbon fiber processing and his current focus in on novel lignin carbon fiber systems. His projects include Lignin Based Carbon Fiber System, Brain-Nerve Smart Shape Memory Polymer (Ternary thiol-ene-acrylate) Substrates and DARPA Body Armor Challenge. Liu received his bachelor’s degree in Materials Science Engineering from the University of Texas. Leadership honors include Paper Science and Engineering Fellowships, President of American Society of Mechanical Engineers, UT Dallas Student Chapter, UTD Presidential Achievement Award, Jonsson School Academic Success Award, Rockwell Collins Scholarship and a University of Texas Engineering Scholarship.

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Mark D. Losego

Assistant Professor, MSE • Georgia Tech 404.385.3630 • losego@gatech.edu

Mark D. Losego joined the School of Materials Science and Engineering as an Assistant Professor in 2014. His research group uses advanced nanomaterials synthesis techniques to study transport phenomena in mesostructures and at organic-inorganic interfaces of relevance for solar, thermal and electrochemical energy systems. His work is primarily experimental and researchers in his group gain expertise in the chemical synthesis of materials (colloids, polymer brushes, SAMs), atomic layer deposition, electrochemistry, physical vapor deposition methods (sputtering, evaporation) and materials characterization. Losego received his bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Penn State University in 2003, and his master’s (2005) and Ph.D. (2008) degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Chris Luettgen

Associate Director • RBI, Georgia Tech Director, Professional Masters in Manufacturing Leadership Director, GT Pulp and Paper Engineering Undergraduate Certificate Program and Foundation 404.894.6908 • chris.luettgen@rbi.gatech.edu Chris Luettgen has 25-plus years of industry experience, with Scott Paper and KimberlyClark Corp., where he most recently served as Senior Research and Engineering Manager for the Kimberly-Clark Professional business sector. He has held positions in product development and innovation as well as in capital project management and manufacturing facility leadership. For several years, Luettgen has served on the RBI Industry Board of Advisors and he is the current Chairman of the Board of the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Paper Engineering at Western Michigan University (1985), his master’s degree at the Institute of Paper Chemistry, Appleton, Continued on next page…

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

Chris Luettgen

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Our Speakers Continued…

WI (1987) and his Ph.D. at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology — now the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech (1991). He rejoined Georgia Tech in November 2014 as a Professor of the Practice in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Associate Director of Pulp and Paper at RBI. He also serves as Director of Industry Strategic Partnerships in the Georgia Tech Professional Education Division. Areas of interest include: Recycled fiber, renewable cellulosic feedstocks, tissue manufacturing and converting and manufacturing leadership/operations excellence.

Don McConnell

Vice President, Office of Industry Collaboration • Georgia Tech 404.407.6199 • don.mcconnell@gatech.edu Don McConnell serves as Georgia Tech’s Vice President of Industry Collaboration with responsibility for the Institute’s engagement with industry through strategic research collaborations and in the commercial deployment of innovations arising from Tech’s research. He also serves as the Executive Director for industry collaboration and commercialization at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. Prior to joining Tech in 2012, for 31 years he served as a Senior Executive and Corporate Officer of the Battelle Memorial Institute, the leading independent research and development organization with total annual research revenues of $6.5 billion.

Norman F. Marsolan

Professor, Executive Director, RBI • Georgia Tech 404.894.2082 • norman.marsolan@rbi.gatech.edu Norman F. Marsolan is Executive Director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech. As Executive Director, Marsolan is responsible for engaging the research capacity of Georgia Tech in the service of member companies and industry. After 20 years of service, Marsolan retired from International Paper Company in 2008, where he last served as Director of Research and Development. He also held assignments as Mill Manager and as Director of Technology Manufacturing Solutions, responsible for the worldwide support of pulp and paper manufacturing. Marsolan is a past Chair of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI). He is an affiliate member of the forest products industry’s Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance and a TAPPI Fellow.

Robert J. Moon

Adjunct Professor, MSE • Georgia Tech 404.894.1026 • robertmoon@fs.fed.us Robert J. Moon is a GS-14 Materials Research Engineer at the USDA Forest Service-Forest Products Laboratory and is an Adjunct Professor in Materials Engineering at Purdue University and in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his bachelor’s degree in Metallurgy from the University of Wisconsin (1994) and his master’s degree (1996) and Ph.D. (2000) in Materials Engineering from Purdue University. He is currently stationed at the Renewable Bioproducts Institute where he shares his expertise in processing-structure-property relationships as they apply in various aspects of cellulose nanomaterial research, such as nanocomposites, hybrid composites, recyclable solar cells, multi-scale modeling, characterization, etc.

Christopher L. Muhlstein

Professor, MSE • Georgia Tech 404.385.1235 • christopher.muhlstein@mse.gatech.edu Christopher L. Muhlstein received his bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (1994), his master’s in Metallurgy from the Georgia Institute of Technology (1996) and his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (2002). Muhlstein joined the faculty in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2011 after spending nine years on the faculty at Pennsylvania State University (2002-2011).

Muhlstein’s research establishes fracture and fatigue mechanisms in bulk and thin film materials. Muhlstein is a member of Alpha Sigma Mu and Keramos honor societies and an NSF CAREER award recipient.

Sankar Nair

Professor, James F. Simmons Faculty Fellow Associate Chair, Industry Outreach, ChBE • Georgia Tech 404.894.4826 • sankar.nair@chbe.gatech.edu Sankar Nair is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His research focus is creating, understanding and rationally engineering nanoporous materials and membranes through innovative chemical and processing strategies, as well as manipulating the unique properties resulting from

the reduction of material dimensions to the nanometer length scale or from the nanostructuring of a material. He also works with basic and applied problems relating directly to renewable/clean energy, carbon capture, advanced separations, catalytic membranes and nanoscale sensors. Nair received his bachelor’s of technology in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in 1997; his master’s of Physics and Ph.D. of Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2002.

Soydan Ozcan

Materials Science & Technology Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Joint Associate Professor, Mechanical-Aerospace-Biomedical Engineering • UT-Knoxville 865.241.2158 • ozcans@ornl.gov Soydan Ozcan is a scientist in Materials Science & Technology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and UT/ORNL Joint Associate Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering Department in University of Tennessee-Knoxville. His research team consists of engineers, technicians and interns developing innovative materials and manufacturing technologies for R&D areas in composite materials. He has actively initiated developing new programs and has been the principal investigator for more than 20 R&D projects including research in the areas of low-cost carbon fiber, high volume composite manufacturing, composite recycling and biomanufacturing. Currently, he is the lead scientist of bio-additive manufacturing and biocomposites trust area of ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and he also leads the composite recycling effort in Advanced Composite Institute (IACMI). Applied R&D of Ozcan’s team engages over twenty industrial partners and delivers research with more direct applications to society. He received his bachelor’s degree from Ankara University in 2001 and his master’s and Ph.D. from the Southern Illinois University in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

Pamela Peralta-Yahya

Assistant Professor, ChBE • Georgia Tech 404.894.4228 • pperalta-yahya@chemistry.gatech.edu Pamela Peralta-Yahya, an Assistant Professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is leading a research group developing foundational technologies to more effectively engineer biological systems for chemical synthesis. One area of research is the development of biosensors to screen

chemical-producing microbes, which could identify strains that produce chemicals at industrially relevant yield. This technology has potential applications in the area of microbial synthesis of pharmaceuticals and microbial production of high energy density fuels. Peralta-Yahya holds a bachelor’s degree from Macalester College and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. She pursued postdoctoral research at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA). She received the DARPA Young Faculty Award and the DuPont Young Professor for Scientific Innovation Award in 2014.

Arthur J. Ragauskas

Professor/Governor’s Chair, ChBE • University of Tennessee, Knoxville Oak Ridge National Laboratory aragausk@utk.edu Arthur J. Ragauskas held the first Fulbright Chair in Alternative Energy and is a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Academy of Wood Science and TAPPI. In 2014, he assumed a Governor’s Chair for Biorefining based in University of Tennessee’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, with a complementary appointment in the UT Institute of Agriculture’s Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries and serves in the U.S. Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, Biosciences Division, at ORNL. His research program is directed at understanding and exploiting innovative sustainable bioresources. This multifaceted program is targeted to develop new and improved applications for nature’s premiere renewable biopolymers for biofuels, biopower and bio-based materials and chemicals. Currently, Ragauskas manages a research group of graduate students, postdoctoral research fellows, a research scientist and visiting scientists. His current field of expertise includes biorefining, biofuels, bio-based materials and chemicals, biocomposites, biopower, fiber modification, nanobioterials, sustainability/green chemistry, pulping/bleaching, chemistry of natural biopolymers including cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, polysaccharides and organic/carbohydrate chemistry. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Western Ontario and his Ph.D. of Science from the University of Western Ontario.

Jonathan Rager

Senior Vice President • RISI jrager@risi.com

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A 20-plus year veteran of the forest products industry, Jon Rager is a Senior Vice President at RISI, a leading information provider for the global forest products industry. He is based in the company’s Atlanta office leading the global team of economists, engineers and analysts who provide forecasts and mill intelligence in the Analytics Division.

Previously, he managed a technical strategy practice area and multiple domestic and international due diligence assignments at Pöyry Management Consulting. He has also served in the corporate lending Continued on next page…

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

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Jonathan Rager

Our Speakers Continued…

sector at GE Capital, providing financing to companies in the industry. Earlier in his career, Jon held various process engineering and operations roles with several pulp and paper producers. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with honors from Pennsylvania State University.

Matthew J. Realff

Professor, ChBE • Georgia Tech Associate Director • RBI 404.894.1834 • matthew.realff@chbe.gatech.edu Matthew J. Realff is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech and David Wang Senior Faculty Fellow. He has been at Georgia Tech since 1993, after completing his bachelor’s degree at Imperial College London and Ph.D. in chemical engineering at MIT in 1992. He was National Science Foundation (NSF) Program Director from 2005-2007 and currently serves as an NSF external expert in resilient infrastructure systems. He co-chaired the 2013 American Chemistry Society Green Chemistry Conference.

In December 2013 he was appointed Associate Director of the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute and in 2014 as Associate Director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute to help develop programs in chemicals and fuels. His research interests are in process and sustainable systems engineering. He has current projects in lignocellulosic pretreatment process invention, DoE-sponsored carbon dioxide capture from flue gas streams and bio-based chemical process design sponsored by NSF.

John R. Reynolds

Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, MSE • Georgia Tech 404.385.4390 • john.reynolds@chemistry.gatech.edu John R. Reynolds is a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Materials Science and Engineering with expertise in polymer chemistry and serves as a member of the Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE). His research interests have involved electrically conducting and electroactive conjugated polymers for more than 30 years with work focused to the development of new polymers by manipulating their fundamental organic structure in order to control their optoelectronic and redox properties. His group has been heavily involved in developing new polyheterocycles, visible and infrared light electrochromism, along with light emission from polymer and composite LEDs

(both visible and near-infrared) and light emitting electrochemical cells (LECs).

Further work is directed to using organic polymers and oligomers in photovoltaic cells. Reynolds received his bachelor’s of Chemistry from San Jose State University in 1979 and his master’s (1982) and Ph.D. (1984) degrees from the University of Massachusetts in Polymer Science and Engineering.

Paul S. Russo

Professor, Hightower Chair, Biopolymers, MSE • Georgia Tech 404.385.2607 • paul.russo@mse.gatech.edu Paul S. Russo is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering with a joint appointment in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry with expertise in polymer, biopolymer and particle chemistry. His research interests are rooted in rodlike polymers, such as plant viruses, cellulose derivatives and aromatic backbone materials. Particular emphasis has been paid to molecular transport in complex fluids containing rods and to related measurement methods.

After obtaining a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Chemistry in 1981, Russo undertook postdoctoral studies in Polymer Physics at the University of Massachusetts. He has published more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific papers and served on the editorial advisory board for Macromolecules, the ACS journal of polymers.

Meisha L. Shofner

Associate Professor, MSE • Georgia Tech Associate Director • RBI 404.385.7216 • meisha.shofner@mse.gatech.edu Meisha L. Shofner is an Associate Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, joining the faculty following post-doctoral training at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Rice University. At Georgia Tech, Shofner’s research focuses on designing hierarchically structured polymeric materials for structural and functional applications through approaches such as novel processing, polymer crystallization and nanoparticle assembly and templating. In her current research, these methods have been employed preferentially to bio-based materials. Shofner’s research has been recognized with the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associate Universities and the Solvay Advanced Polymers Young Faculty Award.

Preet M. Singh

Professor, MSE • Georgia Tech 404.894.6641 • preet.singh@rbi.gatech.edu Preet M. Singh is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. His research is focused on the fundamental understanding of the environmental degradation of material properties, especially for metals and alloys, and their protection. His research work is related to the corrosion and SCC problems in the pulp and paper industry, bio-fuels, the energy industry, transportation infrastructure and nuclear industry. Singh has published more than 175 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings. He is an active member of NACE, ASM, TMS, AIST and ACerS. Singh is Fellow of NACE International as well as ASM-International.

Naresh Thadhani

Professor & Chair, MSE • Georgia Tech 404.894.2651 • naresh.thadhani@mse.gatech.edu Naresh Thadhani is a Professor with and Chair of the School of Materials Science and Engineering. His research focuses on studies of shock-induced physical, chemical and mechanical changes for processing of novel materials and for probing the deformation and fracture response of metals, ceramics, polymers and composites, subjected to high-rate impact loading conditions. He has developed a state-of-the-art, highstrain-rate laboratory, which includes 80-mm and 7.62-mm diameter single-stage gas-guns and a laser-accelerated thin-foil set-up, all used to perform impact experiments at velocities of 70 to 1200 m/s. The experiments employ time-resolved diagnostics to monitor shock-initiated events with nanosecond resolution employing piezoelectric and piezoresistive stress gauges, VISAR interferometry, Photonic-doppler-velocimetry and high-speed digital imaging, combined with the ability to recover impacted materials for postmortem microstructural characterization and determination of other properties.

Thadhani received his bachelor’s of Engineering of Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Rajasthan, India, in 1980; his master’s of Metallurgical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1981; and his Ph.D. of Physical Metallurgy from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in 1984.

Allison Tolbert

Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry and Biochemistry • Georgia Tech tolbertak@gatech.edu

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Allison Tolbert is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and is a Paper Science and Engineering Fellow. She is expected to complete her degree in December. Her research focus is on ToF-SIMS surface analysis of biomass during biorefining. She is currently finishing her studies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN. She attended the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, in 2011 and received her bachelors’ degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics from Wofford College, South Carolina, in 2012. She served as president of the American Chemical Society at Wofford College from 2011-2012.

David B. Turpin

Executive Director • Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance 202.463.2742 • david_turpin@agenda2020.org David B. Turpin is Executive Director of the forest products industry’s Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance, an industry led consortium that promotes development of advanced technologies for the pulp and paper industry. Turpin oversees identification of the industry’s technology research priorities and development of strategies to address them, building partnerships and identifying potential funding sources. Prior to joining Agenda 2020 in 2014, he served for more than 25 years with MeadWestvaco and its predecessor, Mead Corporation. Most recently with MeadWestvaco, he was Vice President/Innovation Systems and prior to that served as Vice President/Packaging Materials and Processing. He received his bachelor’s degree in Paper Science from North Carolina State University.

Krista Walton

Associate Professor, ChBE • Georgia Tech 404.894.5254 • krista.walton@chbe.gatech.edu Krista Walton is an Associate Professor and Marvin R. McClatchey and Ruth McClatchey Cline Faculty Fellow with the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, both in Chemical Engineering. Walton was the Tim and Sharon Taylor Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Kansas State University from 2006-2009 and then joined the faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering in August 2009. She was recently named Director of the Department of Energy-funded Energy Frontier Research Center at Georgia Tech that is investigating how acid gases affect materials used in pollution control. Her areas of interest include selective adsorbents for carbon dioxide capture, novel porous structures for enhanced air purification, metal-organic frameworks as site-specific catalysts, modulation of adsorption properties of MOFs by Post-Synthetic Modification, adsorption separations for biofuels productions and synthesis of new organic ligands for novel families of MOFs.

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

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Cyrus Aidun Professor, Georgia Tech 801 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.6645

cyrus.aidun@me.gatech.edu Hannah Akinosho PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech/ORNL 1 Bethel Valley Rd., Building 1520 Oak Ridge, TN 37830 865.241.4232

hakinosho@gatech.edu Elise Albuquerque Graduate Student 500 10th Street NW Atlanta, GA 30318 404.9847478

elise.mota@chbe.gatech.edu Sireesha Aluri Ph.D. Candidate, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.921.7852

saluri@gatech.edu Bruce Archibald Strategic Analyst, International Paper 6283 Tri-Ridge Blvd.

Loveland, OH 45140 513.248.6000

bruce.archibald@ipaper.com Navin Asthana Sr. Manager, SABIC 1600 Industrial Blvd.

Sugar Land, TX 77478 281.207.5596

nasthana@sabic.com Steven Battista Business Development, E Ink 9 Ipswich Dr. Littleton, MA 01460 413.237.0387

sbattista@eink.com

Conference Participants Aydin Baykal

PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332

abaykal@gatech.edu Brian Beatty PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 345 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 203.858.5265

brian.beatty@gatech.edu Gregg Beckham Senior Engineer, NREL 1021 5th St. Unit 8 Golden, CO 80403 617.960.7648

gregg.beckham@nrel.gov Sven Behrens Associate Professor, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.432.0156

sbehrens@gatech.edu Dean Benjamin Director of Product Development, Verso Corporation 300 N Biron Dr. Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494 715.422.7401

dean.benjamin@versoco.com Kathleen Bennett Principal, Bennett Consulting, LLC 1027 Pintail Point Anderson, SC 29626 864.332.6693

kathleen@bennettllc.net Andreas Bommarius Professor, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.1334

andreas.bommarius@chbe.gatech.edu

Jim Bradbury

Product Development Manager, Verso Corporation 300 North Biron Dr. Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494 715.422.7420

jim.bradbury@versoco.com Victor Breedveld Associate Professor, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.5134

victor.breedveld@chbe.gatech.edu Alex Brittain PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 203.300.1270

abrittain3@gatech.edu Jonathan Brown Marketing & Utilization Specialist, Georgia Forestry Commission 56 New Hope Rd. Canon, GA 30520 478.297.2112

jbrown@gfc.state.ga.us Sabornie Chatterjee Senior Scientist, Rayonier Advanced Materials 4474 Savannah Hwy. Jesup, GA 31545 662.312.0021

sabornie.chatterjee@rayonieram.com Beth Cormier VP, R&D & Innovation, SAPPI 255 State St. Boston, ME 02109 617.423.5441

beth.cormier@sappi.com Rosy Covarrubias Technology Director, Buckman 1256 N McLean Blvd.

Memphis, TN 38108 901.272.8362

rcovarrubias@buckman.com

Steve Cross Executive Vice President for Research, Georgia Tech 177 North Ave. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.8885

cross@gatech.edu Grant Culbertson Sr. Associate Innovation, Georgia-Pacific 133 Peachtree Atlanta, GA 30303 404.652.8740

grant.culbertson@gapac.com Harry Cullinan Technology Director, Auburn University Auburn, AL 36849 334.844.2035

culliht@auburn.edu James Dallas President, James Dallas & Associates 25 Cameron Glen Dr. Atlanta, GA 30328 612.850.0085

jamesdallas@yahoo.com Sherwin Davoud Undergraduate Researcher, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332

sdavoud3@gatech.edu Yulin Deng Professor, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30318 404.894.5759

yulin.deng@rbi.gatech.edu Xu Du PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30318 612.354.9901

xudu@gatech.edu

Paul Durocher Director, Coated Paper Development, SAPPI 300 Warren Ave. Old Orchard Beach, ME 04092 207.856.3848

javon.lashae@sappi.com Michael Dutzer PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 778 Atlantic Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 757.469.2686

mrdutzer@gatech.edu Alice Favero Visiting Assistant Professor, Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA 30306 404.385.3765

alice.favero@pubpolicy.gatech.edu Hamid Garmestani Professor, MSE, Georgia Tech 771 Ferst Dr. SE Atlanta, GA 30080 404.385.4495

garmestani@gatech.edu Nagi Gebraeel

Peter Hart

PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 771 Ferst St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 214.843.8010

peter.hart@westrock.com

ljiang64@gatech.edu

kippelen@gatech.edu

clive.h.liu@gmail.com

Liang He PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332

lianghe@gatech.edu Dennis Hess Professor, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst. Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.5922

dennis.hess@chbe.gatech.edu Chad Hume PSE Student, Georgia Tech 813 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 484.639.2783

chume3@gatech.edu Sean Ireland

nagi.gebraeel@isye.gatech.edu

sean.ireland@imerys.com

gopal.goyal@ipaper.com

Cameron Irvin PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 678.446.2719

cirvin3@gatech.edu

Ross Gray Director, Paper R&D, Nalco 1601 W. Diehl Rd. Naperville, IL 60563 630.305.2208

rgray@nalco.com

H. Clive Liu

Professor, Georgia Tech 777 Atlantic Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.5163

Director, Global Business Development, Imerys 5737 Jenness Hall Orono, ME 04469 207.581.1487

Chief Scientist, International Paper 6283 Tri-Ridge Blvd.

Loveland, OH 45140 513.248.6415

Bernard Kippelen

PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30332 612.963.1631

ISYE, Georgia Tech 755 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.0054

Gopal Goyal

Lu Jiang

Director, Fiber Tech & Innovation, WestRock 3 Bohler Point NW Atlanta, GA 30327 919.608.3873

Roger Jiao

Senior Technical Leader, Kimberly-Clark 1400 Holcomb Bridge Rd Roswell, GA 30076 770.587.8304

dmjackso@kcc.com

Mark Losego

Senior Principal Scientist, PepsiCo 4501 May Apple Dr. Alpharetta, GA 30005 914.319.2629

Professor, Georgia Tech 771 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.3630

rjiao@gatech.edu

sandeep.kulkarni@pepsico.com

losego@gatech.edu

Chris Jones

Kimberly Kurtis

Chris Luettgen

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AVPR, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 404.385.1683

Professor, Georgia Tech 790 Atlantic Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.0825

Professor, Director, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.6908

cjones@chbe.gatech.edu

kimberly.kurtis@ce.gatech.edu

chris.luettgen@rbi.gatech.edu

Kyriaki Kalaitzidou

Thomas Kwok

Tony Lyons

Associate Professor, Georgia Tech 813 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.3446

PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 415.971.2317

Technical Director, Imerys 618 Kaolin Rd. Sandersville, GA 31082 478.553.5243

kyriaki.kalaitzidou@me.gatech.edu

tkwok@gatech.edu

tonylyons@imerys.com

Laura Keck

Augustus Lang

Bruno Marcoccia

Technical Leader, Kimberly-Clark 1400 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Roswell, GA 30076 770.587.7837

PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 901 Atlantic Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30318 303.590.4616

Director, Research & Development, Domtar 100 Kingsley Park Dr. Fort Mill, SC 29715 803.802.8149

lkeck@kcc.com

alang@gatech.edu

bruno.marcoccia@domtar.com

Nikita Kevlich

Vincent Li

PSE, Researcher, Georgia Tech 500 10th Street NW Atlanta, GA 30318 614.390.2462

PSE Graduate Researcher, Georgia Tech North Ave. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.2000

nkevlich3@gatech.edu

vli6@gatech.edu

Thomas Kindler David Jackson

Sandeep Kulkarni

Associate Professor, Georgia Tech 813 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.9633

Operations Leader, Renmatix 1640 Airport Rd., Suite 108 Kennesaw, GA 30144 770.429.7971

tom.kindler@renmatix.com

Sylvia Little Global Director, Material Science, Kimberly-Clark 1400 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Roswell, GA 30076 770.365.3925

slittle@kcc.com

Norman Marsolan Professor, Executive Director, RBI, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.2082

norman.marsolan@rbi.gatech.edu Pat McCarthy Professor, Georgia Tech 800 W. Peachtree NW Atlanta, GA 30308 404.894.4914

mccarthy@gatech.edu

Don McConnell

Conference Participants

VP, Office of Industry Collaboration, Georgia Tech 75 5th St. NW, Suite 470 Atlanta, GA 30332 404.548.0898

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

don.mcconnell@gatech.edu

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Christopher Muhlstein Associate Professor, Georgia Tech 771 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.1235

christopher.muhlstein@mse.gatech.edu Arie Mulyadi PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 608.770.0919

mulyadi@gatech.edu Sankar Nair Professor, Industry Outreach, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.4826

sankar.nair@chbe.gatech.edu Matthew Orr PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 778 Atlantic Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 678.516.4107

morr7@gatech.edu Soydan Ozcan Researcher, Joint Associate Professor, ORNL, UT-Knoxville 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 865.241.2158

ozcans@ornl.gov Dennis Oztekin PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA 30318 484.866.3412

doztekin3@gatech.edu

Steve Parker

VP Research, Development & Technical Services, WestRock 501 South 5th St. Richmond, VA 23219 804.444.3990

steve.parker@westrock.com Fritz Paulsen R&D Manager, KapStone Paper & Packaging P.O. Box 118005 Charleston, SC 29423 843.745.3102

fritz.paulsen@kapstonepaper.com Pamela Peralta-Yahya Assistant Professor, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.4228

pperalta-yahya@chemistry.gatech.edu Joseph Perry Professor, Georgia Tech 901 Atlantic Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.6046

joe.perry@gatech.edu Sandy Pettit Faculty Lecturer, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.5103

sandra.pettit@chbe.gatech.edu Jerry Qi Associate Professor, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.2457

qih@me.gatech.edu Matt Rachford Director, Corporate Sustainability, Business Strategy & Development 133 Peachtree St. Atlanta, GA 30303 404.652.7022

matt.rachford@gapac.com

Art Ragauskas

Chair in Biorefining, University of Tennessee Knoxville, GA 37996 865.974.2042

aragausk@utk.edu Jonathan Rager SVP, Analytics, RISI 900 Circle 75 Pkwy., Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30339 770.373.3033

jrager@risi.com Fereshteh Rashidi

Bailey Risteen PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 860.918.6521

bristeen3@gatech.edu David Rosen Professor, Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.9668

david.rosen@me.gatech.edu Paul Russo

Postdoctoral Fellow, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30331 404.890.0160

Professor, Georgia Tech 771 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.2607

f.rashidi@gatech.edu

paul.russo@mse.gatech.edu

Matthew Realff

Chinmay Satam

Professor, Associate Director, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 404-894-1834

PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30363 404.786.2565

matthew.realff@chbe.gatech.edu

csatam3@gatech.edu

Elsa Reichmanis Professor, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.0316

elsa.reichmanis@chbe.gatech.edu John Reynolds Professor, Georgia Tech 901 Atlantic Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.4390

john.reynolds@chemistry.gatech.edu Bruce Richards CEO, Sustainable Corporate Network 55 Allen Plaza Atlanta, GA 30308 404.946.3585

bruce@sustainable-corp.com

Ken Schelling Mill Manager, Technical Director, Southworth/Paperlogic 36 Canal Rd. Turners Falls, MA 01237 413.863.4326

kschelling@southworth.com Charles Scurry Industrial Segment Manager, Georgia Power/Southern Company 241 Ralph McGill Blvd., BIN 10195 Atlanta, GA 30308 404.506.6889

cbscurry@southernco.com Nikolay Semenikhin PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.644.5046

nsemenikhin3@gatech.edu

Subrata Sen

Jeff Stevens

Director, Technology Innovation, Georgia-Pacific LLC 133 Peachtree St. NE Atlanta, GA 30303 404.652.6561

Director, Manufacturing Technology, International Paper 6400 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38197 901.419.7740

subrata.sen@gapac.com

jeff.stevens@ipaper.com

Vinoo Sharma

Ken Stewart

Director of Materials Innovation, INVISTA 175 Town Park Dr., Suite 200 Johns Creek, GA 30022 770.420.7737

Senior Advisor for Industry Strategy, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.9592

vinoo.sharma@invista.com

ken.stewart@gatech.edu

Meisha Shofner

Marty Swails

Associate Director, RBI, Georgia Tech 771 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.7216

Engineering Technical Leader, Kimberly-Clark 1400 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Roswell, GA 30076 678.352.6409

meisha.shofner@mse.gatech.edu

meswails@kcc.com

Marcelo Silva

Alex Taylor

Process Specialist, Fibria Celulose Rod Gal Euryale Jesus Zerbine, km 84 Jacarei, Sao Paulo 12340010, BR 55.122.128.1794

Process Technology Engineer, Renmatix 1640 Airport Rd. Kennesaw, GA 30144 770.429.7960

marcelo.silva@fibria.com.br

alexdx03@gmail.com

Preet Singh

Naresh Thadhani

Professor, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.6641

Professor, Chair, Georgia Tech 771 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.2651

preet.singh@rbi.gatech.edu

naresh.thadhani@mse.gatech.edu

David Snead

Oomman Thomas

Sr. Development Chemist, Georgia-Pacific Chemicals 2883 Miller Rd. Decatur, GA 30035 678.537.1874

Visiting Scientist, Georgia Tech 771 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 678.360.3251

david.snead@gapac.com

toomman3@gatech.edu

Jake Soper Associate Professor, Georgia Tech 901 Atlantic Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.4022

jake.soper@gatech.edu

Valerie Thomas

Allison Tolbert PSE Graduate Student, Georgia Tech Oak Ridge, TN 37830 864.992.9160

tolbertak@gatech.edu David Turpin Executive Director, Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance 1101 K St. NW, Suite 700 Washington, D.C. 20005 740.649.2307

david_turpin@agenda2020.org Don Waldroup Senior Research Manager, Kimberly-Clark 1400 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Roswell, GA 30076 770.633.6802

dewaldrp@kcc.com Krista Walton Associate Professor, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. Atlanta, GA 30332 404.894.5254

krista.walton@chbe.gatech.edu

Angelle Whittington Plant Engineer, Solenis 7525 NE Industrial Blvd.

Macon, GA 31216 478.785.2513

awhittington@solenis.com Philip Williams Consultant, Philip L. Williams 9075 Tuckerbrook Lane Johns Creek, GA 30022 678.467.8347

philiplwilliams@outlook.com Yi Zhang PSE, Ph.D. Candidate, Georgia Tech 778 Atlantic Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 803.553.7747

yzhang642@gatech.edu Yuanzheng Zhu PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.51.3938

yzhu319@gatech.edu

Songcheng Wang PSE Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech 311 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332 404.414.5812

songchengwang@gatech.edu Theodore Wegner Assistant Director, USDA FS Forest Products Laboratory 1 Gifford Pinchot Dr. Madison, WI 53726 608.231.9434

twegner@fs.fed.us Ning Wei

Professor, Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA 30332 404.385.7254

Senior Scientist, Kimberly-Clark 1400 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Roswell, GA 30076 770.587.7384

vt34@gatech.edu

nwei@kcc.com

21

Poster Abstract Session Participants Operational Excellence in Advanced Pulping, Paper & Packaging • Bedi Aydin Baykal, Erosion corrosion of steels exposed to pulping liquors, MSE • Xiaotang Du, Electric treatment for ink and micro-stickies removal, ChBE • Kasey Hanson, Corrosion control in superheaters to increase kraft recovery boiler efficiency, MSE • Liang He, Effect of aging on the pitting behavior of new lean duplex stainless steels 2120, MSE • Chad Hume, Design and analysis of press fabric structures for improved dewatering, ME • Lu Jiang, Facile fabrication of highly amphiphobic paper with pulp debonder, ChBE • Nikita Kevlich, Carbon molecular sieves and ceramic membranes for kraft black liquor concentration, ChBE, MSE • Vincent Lee, Computer simulation of multiphase flow to gain insight in the physics of advanced paper forming technologies, ME • Yitao Liu, Online simulation and optimization of resource balancing and factory loading for energy cost reduction in the pulp and paper industry, ME • Yoon Joo Na, Fracture mechanics and strain-mining analysis of paper, MSE • Dennis Oztekin, Development of advanced simulation methods for technologies and processes involving multiphase (fiber/air/water) flow: applications in de-inking and foam-forming, ME • Songcheng Wang, Application of oil-coated bubbles in deinking process, ChBE • Gaoxiang Wu, The effects of strain on the repassivation and corrosion behaviors of carbon steel A569, MSE • Yuanzheng Zhu, Crystal particle adhesion to surfaces in black liquor evaporators, ME

The Future of Biocomposites & Nanocellulose • Brian Beatty, Application of cellulosic materials as flexible substrates for two-dimensional electronic devices, MSE • Huibin Chang, Dispersion of cellulose nanocrystals and its application on polyacrylonitrile composite fibers, MSE • Nathan Ellebracht, Effective and controlled aqueous functionalization of cellulose nanocrystals as chemocatalysts in upgrading reactions for renewable chemicals, ChBE • Cameron Irvin, Wei Liu & Chinmay Satam, Design of natural nanofiber composites: An integrated approach to cellulose- and chitin-based nanomaterials, MSE • Augustus Lang, Electrofunctional Paper: Conductive and switchable displays, Chem/BioChem • Vincent Li, 3D printed nanocellulosic materials and its composite, ChBE • Hsiang-Hao “Clive” Liu, Lignin-polyacrylonitrile blend carbon fiber: A step toward green manufacturing, MSE • Jeffrey Luo, Mechanical and thermal properties of polyacrylonitrile/cellulose nanocrystals composite films, MSE

22

The Future of Biocomposites & Nanocellulose • Arie Mulyadi, Metal-free nitrogen-sulfur codoped carbon from cellulose nanofibrils, ChBE • Karthik Nayani, Cylindrical confinement of nematics and chiral nematics, MSE • Matthew Orr, Processing strategies for cellulose nanocrystal/poly (ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) composites, MSE • Ke Qiu, Bio-inspired, ultra-strong biopolymer-based nanocomposites, MSE • Bailey Risteen, Liquid crystal templating of semiconducting polymers using cellulose nanocrystsals, ChBE, MSE • Nikolay Semenikhin, Cellulose nanocrystals for biomedical applications, MSE • Yi Zhang, Colloidal Particles: A novel wetting modifier in colloidal multiphase systems, ChBE • Zhe Zhang, Synthesis of biobased emulsifier through chemically modified lignin, ChE

New Opportunities in Biochemicals • Hannah Akinosho, Is Simons’ Staining a reliable indicator of accessibility during consolidated bioprocessing? Chem/BioChem • Elise Albuquerque, Lactic acid formation from glycerol intermediate over solid catalyst, ChBE • Sireesha Aluri, Gasification studies of Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF), ChBE • Alex Brittain, Mechanocatalytic depolymerization of lignin, ChBE • Mason Chilmonczyk, Micro/nanotechnology-enabled biochemical imaging in complex environments relevant to renewable bioproduct processing, MSE • Xu Du, Depolymerization of lignin for value-added products using liquid catalytic approach, ChBE • Michael Dutzer, Partial etching of iron carbide-derived carbon for catalytic hydrotreating, ChBE • Thomas Tai-Min Kwok, Delignification and accessibility changes as a measure of chemical pretreatment efficacy, ChBE • Chukwuemeka Okolie, Understanding the steric effect of “roadblocks” during hydrodeoxygenation of pyrolysis-oil model compounds, ChBE • Jungseob So, In-situ ATR-IR study on formation of intermediates of APR reactions of polyols over a Pt/y-A1203 catalyst, ChBE • Allison Tolbert, Insight into Populus surface chemistry changes after C. bescii growth via ToF-SIMS, Chem/BioChem • Oomman Thomas, Sherwin Davoud, Mellen Graham & Yasmine Jalali, Design and integration of a nanohybrid functional biomaterial with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties, MSE

23

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GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI-GT) Antitrust Notice Guidelines for Meetings As required by law as well as RBI-GT bylaws, Appendix II, neither Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute nor any committee or activity of RBI-GT shall be used for or include discussions for the purpose of bringing about or attempting to bring about any understanding or agreement, written or oral, formal or informal, expressed or implied, among competitors with regard to prices, terms or conditions of sale, distribution, volume of production, or allocation of territories, customers, or suppliers.

No RBI-GT activity shall involve exchange or collection and dissemination among competitors of any information regarding prices, pricing methods, costs of production, sales, marketing, or distribution.

Neither RBI-GT nor any committee thereof shall make any effort to bring about the standardization of any product for the purpose of or with the effect of preventing the manufacture or sale of any product not conforming to a specified standard.

RBI-GT does not become involved in or establish any product standards and is precluded from endorsing any product or process.

The above described discussions and/or actions are expressly prohibited and shall not be permitted.

Rev. 1/2015

Your Gifts

RBI is at the forefront in educating future leaders of the industry and cultivating the brightest minds by providing an ecosystem in which to find solutions to the most complex and challenging issues facing the bioeconomy.

The support of our member companies, alumni and friends has allowed RBI to create an interdisciplinary engine that drives our success as the premier institute for advanced research in the area of renewables. We invite you to be a part of this process by giving to RBI. Your gift will contribute to today’s pioneers in renewable research.

To give a gift by check, make your check payable to the Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc. State your intent to benefit the Renewable Bioproducts Institute by listing our name in the memo line of your check.

Gifts may be mailed to: Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc. 760 Spring St., N.W. Suite 400 Atlanta, GA 30308 To make a gift using a credit card, please contact Tisha Roberson in the Office of Development Gift Accounting at 404.894.2985.

For more information, please visit www.gtalumni.org/giving.

GA TECH • RENEWABLE BIOPRODUCTS INSTITUTE Annual Executive Conference • April 5-6, 2016

Georgia Institute of Technology 500 10th Street NW Atlanta, GA 30332-0620 404.894.5700 RBI.gatech.edu

Copyright 2016 • Georgia Institute of Technology • An equal education and employment opportunity institution.