The future of forest products-related industries will not solely be based upon emerging technologies, but on continuous improvement in foundational technologies and new, higher margin products from existing processes.

Join us for “Advancing Foundational Technologies to Improve the Bottom Line,” Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute on the Atlanta campus.

Delivering our keynote address will be RAPID Manufacturing Institute CEO and Georgia Tech alum William Grieco.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the establishment of the 10th Manufacturing USA Institute, the Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Manufacturing Institute. Leveraging up to $70 million in federal funding, RAPID is focused on developing breakthrough technologies to boost energy productivity and energy efficiency by 20 percent in five years. RAPID will leverage approaches to modular chemical process intensification used in a variety of industries. Its focus on renewable bioproducts can be found here.

Grieco's senior-level innovation roles have focused on process development across multiple industries. These include the biofuels startup PetroAlgae, where he and his team built the first-of-a-kind intensive biomass production process to grow and convert aquatic plants to purified proteins and energy feedstocks. For the biopharmaceutical firm Alkermes, he spearheaded development and commercialization of the VIVITROL® and RISPERDAL®

He serves on the external advisory board for the Georgia Tech Energy Policy Innovation Center. Grieco has been a member of AIChE for 25 years, and chaired the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum in the mid-2000s.

The workshop will further explore how RBI is changing the way companies look at their bottom line. Listen to RBI affiliated faculty present research in areas such as black liquor separation, multi-phase forming, corrosion sciences and Factory 4.0, as well as “intelligent paper” and new products for the future of packaging and barrier protection. Find the latest draft agenda on the workshop home page.

Attendees may also take advantage of one-on-one interactions with graduate students as they share their research a poster session and luncheon at the Paper Tricentennial Building.