Breakout Session I
Innovations and New Directions in Carbohydrate Production and Processing
Moderator: Larry Johnson, Director of the Center for Crops Utilization Research
Lee Lynd 
Lee Lynd is a professor of engineering at Dartmouth, as well as, an adjunct professor of biological sciences, and a professor extraordinary of microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. He received a B.S. in Biology from Bates College, an M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and M.S. and D.E. degrees from the Thayer School of Engineering. He is a recipient of the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award and a two-time recipient of the Charles A. Lindbergh Award for his efforts to promote balance between technological progress and the preservation of the natural and human environments.
Lynd spoke at the 2005 Biobased Industry Outlook Conference about the role of biomass in meeting energy needs. In addition to serving on this panel, he is also presenting a keynote address during the 2006 conference.
Jay-Lin Jane
Jay-Lin Jane has been a professor at Iowa State University since 1987. Her research interests include biosynthesis of starch and chemical, physical, and enzymatic modification of starch; internal structures of starch granules; industrial utilization; and biodegradable plastics. She received her Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1984 with a major in biochemistry specializing in carbohydrates.
Nancy Ho 
Nancy Ho is the Group Leader of the Molecular Genetics Group at the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering (LORRE) at Purdue University. In 1993, Dr. Ho’s Group at Purdue succeeded in the development of the world’s first genetically engineered yeast that could effectively ferment xylose AND co-ferment both glucose and xylose to ethanol. This was accomplished by cloning three genes, XR, XD and XK, which are crucial for converting xylose to ethanol, into a small circular DNA molecule known as a plasmid by recombinant DNA techniques. The recombinant plasmid was then transferred into the host yeast. The other three groups in Europe and Japan cloned only two genes, XR and XD (but not XK). As a result, their work was not successful and their yeast was unable to ferment xylose to ethanol.
Since 1993, her group has continued to improve the Saccharomyces yeast to more cost effectively produce cellulosic ethanol on an industrial scale.