Breakout Session II
Climate Change Management in Biofuels Systems
Jim Amonette
Jim Amonette is a senior research scientist in the Chemical and Materials Sciences Division at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA. With a background in aqueous geochemistry and soil mineralogy, his research interests include work on iron minerals and nanoparticles, degradation pathways of chlorinated hydrocarbons, and carbon sequestration in soils and geologic systems. He is currently working on the chemistry of biochar and its suitability as a carbon-sequestration technology.
Michael Wang
Michael Wang has been working in the Center for Transportation Research of Argonne National Laboratory since 1993. He is the manager of the Systems Assessment Section in the center to evaluate energy and emission effects of advanced vehicle technologies and new transportation fuels.
Since late the 1980s, Dr. Wang has been working in the area of evaluating energy and environmental effects of transportation fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. He has developed the GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) model at Argonne. With the model, he has conducted studies for the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of Illinois, the General Motors Corporation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His work in the areas of energy and emission effects of biofuels, hydrogen, and advanced vehicle technologies has been used by industries and government agencies in developing strategies and policies regarding new transportation fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. In particular, his results for biofuels have shaped the debate of biofuel policies in the auto industry, the energy industry, federal and state governments, and non-government organizations. His life-cycle analyses and the GREET model have set industry standards for well-to-wheels analysis of vehicle/fuel systems. At present, there are more than 3,500 registered GREET users in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Dr. Wang received his BS in meteorology from the China Agricultural University in Beijing and an M.S. and PhD in environmental science from the University of California at Davis. He has produced more than 130 publications.
Mark Lawson
Mark Lawson is currently the Corn Technology Yield and Stress Lead at Monsanto. His responsibilities (since early 2007) include Monsanto’s Corn Drought, Nitrogen, Cold, and Intrinsic Yield projects.
Prior to his current position he was the company’s Global Corn Trait Integration Lead. In this role, Dr. Lawson was responsible for integrating the results from Monsanto’s Corn Breeding and Biotechnology groups into products that combined the benefits of both advanced plant breeding activities and the new capabilities that have emerged from Monsanto’s biotechnology effort including Roundup Ready®, YieldGard Corn Borer®, and YieldGard Rootworm®.
In December of 1998, Dr. Lawson joined Monsanto as the Director of their MultiSeason Programs where he was responsible for the contra and continuous season technology programs.
In 1984, Dr. Lawson moved to DeKalb, IL and assumed responsibility for DEKALB-Pfizer Genetics soybean breeding program.
Dr. Lawson received his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding from the University of Minnesota at St. Paul in 1979. His graduate work focused on nitrogen fixation in soybeans. Upon completion of his graduate work, Dr. Lawson accepted the position of Corn Breeder at Pfizer Genetics central Iowa research site in Eldora, Iowa.