Breakout Session V
Substituting Biobased for Petroleum-based in the "Real World"
Ramani Narayan Ramani Narayan is a University Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University. His research encompasses design and engineering of sustainable, biobased products, biodegradable plastics and polymers, reactive extrusion polymerization and processing, studies in polymer biodegradation and composting, LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) protocols for assessing a product's environmental footprint, and biofiber -reinforced composites. A successful entrepreneur, Dr. Narayan has been responsible for commercializing several technologies. He developed poly (lactic acid) materials technology and conducted engineering scale-up studies for Cargill Inc. The technology is currently being commercialized through a Cargill owned subsidiary,
NatureWorksLLC. He also developed a biodegradable, modified starch ester thermoplastics technology. This technology is covered by three patents and formed the basis of a joint venture company in Michigan, which was acquired in 2003 by a major Japanese corn wet miller, Japan Corn Starch (JCS). Biobased products manufactured from these technologies include starch foam sheets for cushion packaging and insulation material, which are being marketed under the trade name GreenCell by KTM Industries; biodegradable and recycling friendly starch based nanoparticle adhesives marketed through Eco Synthetix; and and modified polysaccharides for drug delivery through BioPolymer Innovations.
Dr. Narayan has testified before U.S. congressional hearings on biodegradable
and biobased plastics issues. He serves on the Board of Directors of
Northern Technologies International – a $100 million publicly traded micro
cap company, and on the Technical Advisory board of Tate & Lyle – a world leading manufacturer of renewable food and industrial ingredients. Dr. Narayan is currently developing and commercializing technology for manufacturing new vegetable oil based polyesters and polyols that find application in polyurethanes and unsaturated polyester resins (UPR’s) products.
Jay Olson Jay Olson is Global Technology Manager, Polymers & Engineering
Mechanics, Materials Engineering at the John Deere Technology Center in Moline, Illinois. Mr.
Olson has 30 years experience in positions including Project Engineer, Senior Engineer and
Design Engineer in Product Design, Manufacturing and Materials Engineering with Agricultural,
Construction and Consumer Products. Mr. Olson served in various offices in the Product Design
& Development Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers last serving as President in 1993.
He holds B.S.M.E from University of Illinois and MBA from University of Iowa.
George Handy As Principal Technical Staff Member with Concurrent
Technologies Corporation (CTC), George Handy is responsible for the development and management of
several alternative energy, environmental and biobased material programs. Mr. Handy directs
the technical management of CTC’s biobased product demonstration, validation, and
technology transfer efforts with the federal, university and private sectors. He leads
CTC’s technical support to Iowa State University (ISU) in the implementation of the
BioPreferred Program. Mr. Handy also manages the National Defense Center of Excellence
(NDCEE) Biobased Products Evaluation Task, assessing the performance of biobased products for
the Defense Logistics Agency. Mr. Handy is the technical lead for the Joint Group on Pollution
Prevention (JG-PP) task to assist the DoD in the development of field demonstrations for the
use of biodiesel in tactical ground vehicles. Stephen Halsey Stephen Halsey is the Vice President of independent public
relations firm Gibbs & Soell, Inc. He leads high-impact public relations and marketing
communications programs for Fortune 500 and Blue Chip companies. Specific to the bio-based
industry, he has promoted: renewable chemicals, plastics and foams; enzymes and organisms;
derivatives; plant-based events; alternative energy sources; as well as carbon-footprint
programs. His team has secured favorable coverage for clients in the Wall Street Journal, New
York Times, L.A. Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, CNN,
MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and Paul Harvey, to name a few. Halsey also leads the agency’s
I PowerTM service, which helps businesses and brands develop the most compelling market
positioning.
Jim Evanoff Jim Evanoff is the Environmental Manager at Yellowstone National
Park. He has been with the National Park Service for the past 24 years. His career has involved
working in four other National Parks before coming to Yellowstone in 1988. Starting in Curecanti National Recreation area, Colorado, Jim was instrumental in developing the
infrastructure for this newly acquired Park unit. Next, he moved to Grand Teton National Park
and was responsible for preservation of over 100 historic structures within the park. After
working there for three years, Jim transferred to Arches National Park in southern Utah. The next
move was to Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where his responsibilities
included the preservation maintenance of the famous four faces. Currently in Yellowstone,
Jim is the Environmental Manager for the Park. His work experiences have varied from
assisting in wolf reintroduction to spearheading many of the Park’s “greening
initiatives”. Jim manages all of Yellowstone’s environmental programs and
provides guidance to many other national parks for achieving sound environmental stewardship. For the past ten years, Jim has been instrumental in demonstrating the use of renewable
alternative fuels in Yellowstone. Since that time, he has advanced the use of these fuels
to 47 other national park units across the country. Additionally, Jim is the National Park
Service representative for the regional Clean Cities Coalition. He sits as co-chairman of
the Coalition, which encompasses over 10 million acres in the greater Yellowstone area. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin.
