e-newsletter - fall 2007
Spotlight on CrossOver 2007 - Bioenergy: From Fields to Wheels
CrossOver is an annual conference hosted by Penn State designed to bring together faculty in the life sciences and the physical sciences along with key stakeholders from industry and government in an effort to strengthen research ties among these groups. CrossOver 2007 was held this fall in the HUB-Robeson Center on the Pennsylvania State University’s University Park Campus.
This year’s event focused on Penn State’s bioenergy research with the theme of “Bioenergy: Fields to Wheels” - a concept that includes all the steps in the process chain from photosynthesis to energy utilization. “ Penn State has world class researchers working all along this value chain,” reports Tom Richard, one of the event organizers. “CrossOver was a great opportunity to showcase our expertise to over 400 conference participants, including 75 companies.”
Penn State’s research activity was showcased through a series of presentations, interactive poster sessions, and live demonstrations. Nearly 50 presentations and more than 50 posters in nine research tracks ranging from biohydrogen, to fermentations and bioreactors to socio-economic and policy illustrated the strength of Penn State’s bioenergy research. In addition, the event included a series of keynote addresses and panel discussions featuring collaborations with industry, other universities, and government agencies.
Keynote Speakers
Kathleen McGinty, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, spoke about Governor Rendell’s Energy Policy for Pennsylvania; Tom Foust, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, spoke about strengthening U.S. energy diversity; Richard Hess, Idaho National Laboratory, spoke on feedstock supply system design; Steve Gray, Vice President, Global Technology GE Transportation Systems, remarks focused on the conference theme “Bioenergy: From Fields to Wheels;” and George Church, Harvard University, spoke about evolving genomes for bioenergy research. Other keynote speakers included Eva J. Pell, Penn State Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of The Graduate School who gave the Evening Opening Address and Tom Richard, director of Penn State’s Biomass Energy Center, one of the key organizers of the event.
Sponsors
Platinum sponsors included Archer Daniels Midland Company and the Ben Franklin Partnership; Gold sponsors included AMERIgreen Biofuels, New Holland; and Silver sponsors included Bioenergy International, Ernst Conservation Seeds, Freedom Energy LLC, and West Penn Sustainable Energy Fund.The event was organized by Penn State’s Institutes of Energy and the Environment, Biomass Energy Center, Industrial Research Office, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and Materials Research Institute.
Select conference abstracts and presentations are online at http://bioenergy.psu.edu/crossover2007/schedule.asp.