What: Half Day Symposium on Biofuels

When: June 13, 2008

Where: 1105 Kim Engineering Building

Time: 9:00am - 2:30pm

Register at: www.umerc.umd.edu/symposium/

register.html

The University of Maryland Energy Research Center will be sponsoring a half-day symposium discussing efforts on-campus and beyond related to the promise and challenges of biofuels. The symposium will allow participants to give 10 minute

presentations (with additional time for questions) on their research relevant to outstanding topics concerning both technical and policy advances and challenges concerning biofuels and their large-scale adaptation. Speakers are encouraged to orient their research presentations around some of the following topics:

• Economic viability of feedstocks and conversion technologies

• Current and future limits on water requirements and landuse efficiency

• Repercussions of increased production on food supply and distribution

• Impact of largescale implementation on global warming and carbon management

• Economic and technical barriers to extensive implementation programs

There will also be a time for focused breakout sessions, followed by lunch and an early afternoon lecture from Dr. Valerie Sarisky-Reed of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency Biomass Program as part of the Transforming Energy Lecture Series.

Preliminary Symposium Agenda

9:00 Introduction

9:10 Individual Presentations

10:10 Break

10:20 Individual Presentations

11:20-12:10 Breakout Discussion

12:15 - 1:15 Lunch

1:30 - 2:30 Transforming Energy Lecture

Dr. Valerie Sarisky-Reed

(1110 Kim Eng. Bldg.)

To attend, please register at www.umerc.umd.edu/symposium/

register.html by no later than close of business on Thursday May

22nd. Please indicate if you wish to make a presentation and

provide a title. We look forward to your participation in a broad

and thought-provoking symposium.

For further questions please contact Rick Kohn or Greg Jackson.

"Challenges and Strategies of a Successful National Biofuels Programs"
By Dr. Valerie Sarisky-Reed,
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of the Biomass Program

This presentation will address the technical, political, and infrastructure barriers facing the development of a successful biofuels industry in the U.S., as well as the efforts the Department is taking to overcome them through its Biofuels Initiatives. This discussion will include a description of the goals of the President's Advanced Energy Initiative and 20 in 10 Initiative, current programmatic work, major research and development successes, and planning for the future.

Biography
Dr. Valerie Reed is the team leader for Biochemical and Thermochemical Conversion R&D in the Biomass Programs for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy. She received her Ph.D. in chemistry from Georgetown University in 1993. Since then, she has been working 15 years in various arenas on producing liquid fuels from biomass. She worked closely with Administration in developing the Executive Order titled "DEVELOPING AND PROMOTING BIOBASED PRODUCTS AND BIOENERGY," which was formalized into law under the Biomass R&D Act of 2000 and has lead to EPACT 2005 Bioenergy Provisions as well as the recently enacted Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. http://www.umerc.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=3038