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Queen’s announces new Sustainable Bioeconomy Centre


WEBWIRE

The creation of a new research centre with a focus on moving society from the current fossil-fuel-based economy to the biological resources-based economy of the future was announced today.

The ultimate purpose of the Sustainable Bioeconomy Centre (SBC), under the directorship of Andrew Pollard, Queen’s Research Chair in Fluid Dynamics and Multiscale Phenomena, will be to have a meaningful impact on policy.

“This is a very exciting development for Queen’s,” says Kerry Rowe, Vice Principal Research. “The Centre is exactly what is needed to give focus to our numerous research strengths in this area and will provide a mechanism for maintaining and enhancing interaction with researchers at other institutions in the manner that was previously provided by BIOCAP.”

For 10 years Queen’s has hosted the $50-million BIOCAP Canada Foundation. Following on the leadership provided by founding BIOCAP President and CEO David Layzell, who has provided national leadership to the sustainable bioeconomy initiative, Queen’s University today conducts research in the areas of biomass crop development, biomass processing, biomass handling and biomass conversion technologies, as well as in the areas of forest carbon management systems and the integration of relevant science and technology research into policy and investment decisions. With the impending closure of BIOCAP there is a need to provide a new mechanism for encouraging collaborative research in the sustainable bioeconomy field.

As one of its final program investments in the future of a sustainable bioeconomy, the BIOCAP Canada Foundation has committed $70K to the newly formed Queen’s Sustainable Bioeconomy Centre. This investment, made possible via past industry contributions to BIOCAP from Alberta Pacific Forest Products Inc., Alcan, BC Hydro, Canadian Fertilizer Institute, Dofasco, Lafarge, Ontario Power Generation, and BIOCAP long-term founding industry sponsors Shell, Suncor and TransAlta, will provide upfront industry resources to expedite specific bioeconomy research initiatives. Queen’s is matching this much-valued industry contribution.

The Sustainable Bioeconomy Centre will promote collaboration in research related to the sustainable bioeconomy at Queen’s and with partners at other universities while promoting national and international efforts for a transformative bioeconomy with special emphasis on the Great Lakes region. To that end, Dr.Pollard and the SBC are already engaged with the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems.

The efforts of the Centre will immediately benefit from the Ontario Government-sponsored $21 million Queen’s advanced research and innovation park, which under the direction of Janice Mady, will also focus on the bioeconomy.

The Sustainable Bioeconomy Centre will enjoy close ties with the University of Calgary Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE), which will be directed by Dr. Layzell beginning on July 1 2008.

In partnership with the Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, the Sustainable Bioeconomy Centre will host a June 9 -10, 2008 conference on "Energy from Biomass and the Great Lakes Economy”.

Contacts: Communications Assistant Molly Kehoe, 613 533-2877, molly.kehoe@queensu.ca, or Senior Communications Officer Nancy Dorrance, 613 533-2869, nancy.dorrance@queensu.ca, Queens News and Media Services.

Attention broadcasters: Queen’s has facilities to provide broadcast quality audio and video feeds. For television interviews, we can provide a live, real-time double ender from Kingston fibre optic cable. Please call for details.



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